This article needs attention from an expert in Chemistry. The specific problem is: Undue focus on metal nanoclusters,possible overlap with Nanoparticle.. See the talk page for details.WikiProject Chemistry may be able to help recruit an expert.(February 2022)
Nanoclusters are atomically precise, crystalline materials most often existing on the 0-2 nanometer scale.[citation needed] They are often considered[by whom?] kinetically stable intermediates that form during the synthesis of comparatively larger materials such as semiconductor and metallic nanocrystals. The majority of research conducted to study nanoclusters has focused on characterizing their crystal structures and understanding their role in the nucleation and growth mechanisms of larger materials.
Materials can be categorized into three different regimes, namely bulk, nanoparticles and nanoclusters.[according to whom?] Bulk metals are electrical conductors and good optical reflectors and metal nanoparticles display intense colors due to surface plasmonresonance.[1] However, when the size of metal nanoclusters is further reduced to form a nanocluster, the band structure becomes discontinuous and breaks down into discrete energy levels, somewhat similar to the energy levels of molecules.[2][1][3][4][5] This gives nanoclusters similar qualities as a singular molecule[6] and does not exhibit plasmonic behavior; nanoclusters are known as the bridging link between atoms and nanoparticles.[7][2][1][3][4][5][8][9][10][11][12] Nanoclusters may also be referred to as molecular nanoparticles.[13]
^ abWilcoxon, J. P; Abrams, B. L. (2006). "Synthesis, Structure and Properties of Metal Nanoclusters". Chemical Society Reviews. 35 (11): 1162–1194. doi:10.1039/b517312b. PMID17057844.
^ abShang, L; Dong, S; Nienhaus, G. U. (2011). "Ultra-Small Fluorescent Metal Nanoclusters: Synthesis and Biological Applications". Nano Today. 6 (4): 401–418. doi:10.1016/j.nantod.2011.06.004.
^ abAshenfelter, B. A.; Desireddy, A; Yau, S. H; Goodson T; Bigioni, T. P (2015). "Fluorescence from Molecular Silver Nanoparticles". Journal of Physical Chemistry. C 119 (35): 20728–20734. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b05735.
^Bhattarai, B; Zaker, Y; Atnagulov A; Yoon, B; Landman, U; Bigioni T. P. (2018). "Chemistry and Structure of Silver Molecular Nanoparticles". Accounts of Chemical Research. 51 (12): 3104–3113. doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.8b00445. PMID30462479. S2CID53711566.
^Bhattarai, B; Zaker, Y; Atnagulov A; Yoon, B; Landman, U; Bigioni T. P. (2018). "Chemistry and Structure of Silver Molecular Nanoparticles". Accounts of Chemical Research. 51 (12): 3104–3113. doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.8b00445. PMID30462479. S2CID53711566.
^Cite error: The named reference e was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Chakraborty, I; Govindarajan, A; Erusappan, J; Ghosh, A; Pradeep, T; Yoon, B; Whetten, R. L.; Landman, U. (2012). "The Superstable 25 kDa Monolayer Protected Silver Nanoparticle: Measurements and Interpretation as an Icosahedral Ag152(SCH2CH2Ph)60 Cluster". Nano Letters. 12 (11): 5861–5866. Bibcode:2012NanoL..12.5861C. CiteSeerX10.1.1.720.7249. doi:10.1021/nl303220x. PMID23094944.
^Cite error: The named reference l4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Xu, H.; Suslick, K. S. (2010). "Sonochemical Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent Silver Nanoclusters". ACS Nano. 4 (6): 3209–3214. doi:10.1021/nn100987k. PMID20507161.
^Conn, B. E.; Desireddy, A; Atnagulov, A; Wickramasinghe, S; Bhattarai, B; Yoon, B; Barnett, R. N.; Abdollahian, Y; Kim, Y. W.; Griffith, W. P.; Oliver, S. R.; Landman, U; Bigioni T. P. (2015). "M4Ag44(p-MBA)30 Molecular Nanoparticles". Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 119 (20): 11238–11249. doi:10.1021/jp512237b.