Gold cluster

The icosahedral motif is found in many gold clusters through vertex sharing (Au25 and Au36), face-fusion (Au23 and Au29), and interpenetrating bi-icosahedrons (Au19, Au23, Au26, and Au29).

The crystallization process of gold nanoclusters with 561 atoms from the liquid involves the formation of surface segments that grow towards the center of the cluster.

[14] In order to generate naked gold clusters for catalytic applications, the ligands must be removed, which is typically done via a high-temperature (200 °C/392 °F or higher) calcination process,[15] but can also be achieved chemically at low temperatures (below 100 °C/212 °F), e.g. using a peroxide-assisted route.

[17] Gold metal nanoparticles (NPs) are characterized by an intense absorption in the visible region, which enhances the utility of these species for the development of completely optical devices.

The wavelength of this surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band depends on the size and shape of the nanoparticles as well as their interactions with the surrounding medium.

The presence of this band enhances the potential utility of gold nanoparticle as building blocks for devices for data storage, ultrafast switching, and gas sensors.

Whilst plasmonic gold nanoparticles only exhibit electric moments, clusters of such particles can exhibit magnetic moments making them of great interest for use in optical metamaterials [18] When supported on a FeOOH surface, gold clusters catalyze oxidation of CO at ambient temperatures.