CHAPTER 2: Well-defined Gold Nanoclusters for Catalytic Applications

In recent years, atomically precise gold nanoclusters [Au_n(SR)_m, where SR=thiolate] have emerged as a new promising class of catalysts for a wide range of reactions, including selective oxidation, chemoselective hydrogenation and carbon–carbon coupling reactions. These well-defined gold nanoclusters possess a sizable bandgap and quantized electronic structure, as opposed to the continuous conduction band in metallic gold nanoparticles. Moreover, some of the Au_n(SR)_m nanoclusters have been characterized crystallographically. These Au_n(SR)_m nanocluster model catalysts provide a unique opportunity to correlate the catalytic performance of nanogold catalysts with the atomic structure of gold nanoclusters and eventually to understand the mechanism of the gold nanocluster-catalysed processes at the atomic level.