Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters as Electrocatalysts

This chapter introduces factors affecting the activity and selectivity of atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) for electrocatalytic behaviors and then discusses the recent advances in electrocatalytic applications. Electrocatalytic energy conversion has been deemed as one of the most effective and cleanest pathways to convert and store electrical energy. The chapter focuses on the electrocatalytic studies enabled by atomically precise NCs that are structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. It then discusses the potential factors that have been reported to affect the electrocatalytic performance and selectivity of ligand-protected NCs, either positively or negatively. These factors include two categories: size, shape, and doping – which are also important in traditional nanocatalysts, but NCs provide unprecedented atomic-level information; cluster isomerization, charge state effects, and ligand effects – which are unique in terms of ligand-protected NCs, as these effects would not have been found without finely controlled NCs at single-atom, single-electron level.