Home > Press > Chemists strike nano-gold: 4 new atomic structures for gold nanoparticle clusters: Research builds upon work by Nobel Prize-winning team from Stanford University
![]() |
Xiao Cheng Zeng, chemistry professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is shown with a model of a gold nano-cluster. CREDIT: Craig Chandler/University Communications/University of Nebraska-Lincoln |
Abstract:
Arranging gold, atomic staples and electron volts, chemists have drafted new nanoscale blueprints for low-energy structure capable of housing pharmaceuticals and oxygen atoms.
Led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln chemistry professor Xiao Cheng Zeng, and former UNL visiting professor Yi Gao, new research has revealed four atomic arrangements of a gold nanoparticle cluster. The arrangements exhibit much lower potential energy and greater stability than a standard-setting configuration reported last year by a Nobel Prize-winning team from Stanford University.
The modeling of these arrangements could inform the cluster's use as a transporter of pharmaceutical drugs and as a catalyst for removing pollutants from vehicular emissions or other industrial byproducts, Zeng said.
Zeng and his colleagues unveiled the arrangements for a molecule featuring 68 gold atoms and 32 pairs of bonded sulfur-hydrogen atoms. Sixteen of the gold atoms form the molecule's core; the remainder bond with the sulfur and hydrogen to form a protective coating that stems from the core.
Differences in atomic arrangements can alter molecular energy and stability, with less potential energy making for a more stable molecule. The team calculates that one of the arrangements may represent the most stable possible structure in a molecule with its composition.
"Our group has helped lead the front on nano-gold research over the past 10 years," said Zeng, an Ameritas University Professor of chemistry. "We've now found new coating structures of much lower energy, meaning they are closer to the reality than (previous) analyses. So the deciphering of this coating structure is major progress."
The researchers reported their findings in the April 24 edition of Science Advances, an online journal from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The structure of the molecule's gold core was previously detailed by the Stanford team. Building on this, Zeng and his colleagues used a computational framework dubbed "divide-and-protect" to configure potential arrangements of the remaining gold atoms and sulfur-hydrogen pairs surrounding the core.
The researchers already knew that the atomic coating features staple-shaped linkages of various lengths. They also knew the potential atomic composition of each short, medium and long staple -- such as the fact that a short staple consists of two sulfur atoms bonded with one gold.
By combining this information with their knowledge of how many atoms reside outside the core, the team reduced the number of potential arrangements from millions to mere hundreds.
"We divided 32 into the short, middle and long (permutations)," said Zeng, who helped develop the divide-and-protect approach in 2008. "We lined up all those possible arrangements, and then we computed their energies to find the most stable ones.
"Without those rules, it's like finding a needle in the Platte River. With them, it's like finding a needle in the fountain outside the Nebraska Union. It's still hard, but it's much more manageable. You have a much narrower range."
The researchers resorted to the computational approach because of the difficulty of capturing the structure via X-ray crystallography or single-particle transmission electron microscopy, two of the most common imaging methods at the atomic scale.
Knowing the nanoparticle's most stable configurations, Zeng said, could allow biomedical engineers to identify appropriate binding sites for drugs used to treat cancer and other diseases. The findings could also optimize the use of gold nanoparticles in catalyzing the oxidation process that transforms dangerous carbon monoxide emissions into the less noxious carbon dioxide, he said.
###
Zeng and Gao co-authored the study with Wen Wu Xu, who works with Gao at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics. The team, which received support from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and UNL's Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, performed most of its computational analyses through the Holland Computing Center.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Xiao Cheng Zeng
402-472-9894
Copyright © University of Nebraska-Lincoln
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Stability of perovskite solar cells reaches next milestone January 27th, 2023
Qubits on strong stimulants: Researchers find ways to improve the storage time of quantum information in a spin rich material January 27th, 2023
Temperature-sensing building material changes color to save energy January 27th, 2023
Laboratories
UC Irvine researchers decipher atomic-scale imperfections in lithium-ion batteries: Team used super high-resolution microscopy enhanced by deep machine learning January 27th, 2023
New method addresses problem with perovskite solar cells: NREL researchers provide growth approach that boosts efficiency, stability December 29th, 2022
Chemistry
Dual-site collaboration boosts electrochemical nitrogen reduction on Ru-S-C single-atom catalyst January 6th, 2023
Rapid fluorescent mapping of electrochemically induced local pH changes December 9th, 2022
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
UC Irvine researchers decipher atomic-scale imperfections in lithium-ion batteries: Team used super high-resolution microscopy enhanced by deep machine learning January 27th, 2023
Vertical electrochemical transistor pushes wearable electronics forward: Biomedical sensing is one application of efficient, low-cost transistors January 20th, 2023
Nanomedicine
Team undertakes study of two-dimensional transition metal chalcogenides Important biomedical application, including biosensing December 9th, 2022
Discoveries
Stability of perovskite solar cells reaches next milestone January 27th, 2023
Qubits on strong stimulants: Researchers find ways to improve the storage time of quantum information in a spin rich material January 27th, 2023
Temperature-sensing building material changes color to save energy January 27th, 2023
Announcements
Temperature-sensing building material changes color to save energy January 27th, 2023
Military
Vertical electrochemical transistor pushes wearable electronics forward: Biomedical sensing is one application of efficient, low-cost transistors January 20th, 2023
Rice turns asphaltene into graphene for composites: ‘Flashed’ byproduct of crude oil could bolster materials, polymer inks November 18th, 2022
Environment
Temperature-sensing building material changes color to save energy January 27th, 2023
New nanowire sensors are the next step in the Internet of Things January 6th, 2023
Automotive/Transportation
UC Irvine researchers decipher atomic-scale imperfections in lithium-ion batteries: Team used super high-resolution microscopy enhanced by deep machine learning January 27th, 2023
New nanowire sensors are the next step in the Internet of Things January 6th, 2023
Industrial
Boron nitride nanotube fibers get real: Rice lab creates first heat-tolerant, stable fibers from wet-spinning process June 24th, 2022
Nanotubes: a promising solution for advanced rubber cables with 60% less conductive filler June 1st, 2022
Protective equipment with graphene nanotubes meets the strictest ESD safety standards March 25th, 2022
OCSiAl receives the green light for Luxembourg graphene nanotube facility project to power the next generation of electric vehicles in Europe March 4th, 2022
Research partnerships
Polymer p-doping improves perovskite solar cell stability January 20th, 2023
New insights into energy loss open doors for one up-and-coming solar tech November 18th, 2022
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |