[Au16Ag43H12(SPhCl2)34]5-: An Au-Ag Alloy Nanocluster with 12 Hydrides and Its Enlightenment on Nanocluster Structural Evolution.

The structural determination of alloy hydride nanoclusters with high nuclearity remains challenging. We herein report the synthetic procedure and the structural elucidation of an Au-Ag alloy nanocluster with 12 hydride ligands-[Au16Ag43H12(SPhCl2)34]5-. The structure of [Au16Ag43H12(SPhCl2)34]5- comprises an Au16Ag3 kernel that is stabilized by 12 hydride ligands, 8 thiol bridges, and 6 Agm(SR)n motif units. The 12 hydride ligands in Au16Ag43 have been confirmed by both 2H NMR and ESI-MS measurements, and their positions have been theoretically evaluated, located at the interlayer between the Au16Ag3 kernel and the Ag-SR shell. The metastable [Au16Ag43H12(SPhCl2)34]5- can convert to [Au12Ag32(SPhCl2)30]4- spontaneously. Structurally, the Au16Ag3 kernel of [Au16Ag43H12(SPhCl2)34]5- could be regarded as the overlapping of two hollow Au8Ag3 cages via sharing an Ag3 line, which is in contrast to the solely icosahedral Au12 kernel of [Au12Ag32(SPhCl2)30]4-. Besides, the overall construction of Au16Ag43 or Au12Ag32 follows a complementing or overlapping assembly mode, respectively. Overall, the structural anatomy of Au16Ag43H12(SPhCl2)34 sheds some new insight into the structural evolution of metal nanoclusters.