Alloy nanoclusters-synthesis methods and structural evaluation

Metal nanoclusters have attracted widespread attention owing to their atomically precise structures, intriguing physicochemical properties, and promising applications. Alloying has proven to be a versatile strategy for dictating the geometric and electronic structures of metal nanoclusters. Besides, due to the synergistic effect between heterologous metals, alloy nanoclusters are prone to exhibit improved physicochemical performances relative to the corresponding monometallic nanoclusters, which are expected to benefit the applications of these nanomaterials. Indeed, alloying has emerged as a "growth point" in nanocluster science. In this Chapter, we highlight recent advances in studying alloy nanoclusters. Based on several commonly researched nanocluster templates (e.g., Au 25, Au 38, Ag 25, Ag 29, and Ag 44), we first discuss synthetic methods and geometric structures of alloy nanoclusters. The heteroatom alloying modes within these alloy nanoclusters are disclosed as well. Then, we elaborate on the structure-dependent properties of these alloy nanoclusters and highlight the alloying effects on their physicochemical properties. We finally propose some personal perspectives toward the research of alloy nanoclusters. We hope this chapter can provide researchers attempting to study alloy nanoclusters with a research fundamental.