General Synthetic Route Towards Highly Dispersed Metal Clusters Enabled by Poly(ionic liquid)s

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel poly(ionic liquid)-based method for synthesizing highly dispersed metal clusters with precise size control, enhancing catalytic performance across various metals and alloys.

Contribution

It presents an innovative polytriazolium poly(ionic liquid) approach enabling controlled synthesis of subnanometer metal clusters with record-high catalytic activity.

Findings

Successfully synthesized metal clusters (~1 nm) with controlled sizes.

Achieved record-high catalytic performance with the clusters.

Demonstrated versatility across different metals and alloys.

Abstract

The capability to synthesize a broad spectrum of metal clusters (MCs) with their size controllable in a subnanometer scale presents an enticing prospect for exploring nanosize-dependent properties. Here we report an innovative design of a capping agent from a polytriazolium poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) in a vesicular form in solution that allows for crafting a variety of MCs including transition metals, noble metals, and their bimetallic alloy with precisely controlled sizes (~ 1 nm) and record-high catalytic performance. The ultrastrong stabilization power is result of an unusual synergy between the conventional binding sites in the heterocyclic cations in PIL, and an in-situ generated polycarbene structure induced simultaneously to the reduction reaction. INTRODUCTION