| Project Detail |
Monolayer-protected metal clusters are a special class of atomically precise nanomaterials containing a few to a few hundred metal atoms. They are composed of a metal core surrounded by a layer of protecting ligands. Their properties change drastically with size and composition. The structure of numerous clusters has been determined, which enables detailed studies of their properties as a function of size. The surface layer of the clusters can be engineered to accomplish various tasks. Monolayer-protected metal clusters are excellent model systems to understand surface chemical processes and reactivity and they are attractive for applications in sensing, catalysis and medicine. In this project will make use of the chiral nature of monolayer-protected metal clusters to prepare films that can be used as chiral electrodes for enantioselective electrocatalysis and eventually for electrochemical sensing of enantiomers. We will furthermore use spectroscopic methods to understand the enantiodiscrimination of these systems. We will engineer the surface layer of metal clusters by making use of chiral oligourethane ligands. The latter can be prepared at large scale and with defined sequence using chiral monomers. The variation of the sequence will allow us to change the structure of the ligands and their properties in a systematic way, which facilitates the gain of insight. With this new class of monolayer-protected metal clusters we will study enantiodiscriminating interactions with chiral analytes for sensing applications. We will furthermore use these clusters to understand amplification phenomena that arise due to ligand - ligand interactions on the cluster surface. We will then embed a catalytically active metal complex within the ligand layer of the clusters and use the chiral ligands to induce enantioselectivity. The ability to systematically change the chiral environment around the catalytic center is an advantage on the way to enantioselective cluster catalysts. Finally, we will study the influence of pressure on the (photo)physical properties of clusters both in solution and in the crystalline state using diamond anvil cells. We will seek to induce structure changes by applying high pressure in order to reach new materials that cannot be obtained at ambient conditions. |
