January 2, 2018
Journal of the American Chemical Society
An article by Amala Dass, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and his research group is featured on the cover of the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society.
The paper, “Crystal Structure of Faradaurate-279: Au279(SPh-tBu)84 Plasmonic Nanocrystal Molecules,” is in the November 1, 2017 issue.
This unprecedentedly large, 2.2 nm diameter, thiolate protected gold nanocrystal is named Faradaurate-279 (F-279) in honor of Michael Faraday’s (1857) pioneering work on nanoparticles. It is the smallest gold nanocrystal to exhibit metallic behavior, with a surface plasmon resonance band around 510 nm.
According to Dr. Dass’ faculty webpage: “Nanoscience is a new area of science that has generated excitement worldwide. Nanomaterials are being developed to address some of the world’s biggest challenges, including: clean, affordable energy; stronger, lighter, more durable materials; medical devices and drugs to detect and treat diseases; sensors to detect harmful chemical or biological agents; lighting that uses a fraction of the energy; low-cost filters to provide clean drinking water. We work on molecular gold nanoparticles (<2nm) that have precise number of gold atoms and ligands. Commercialization of nanomaterials and design of nanoengineered products will require: understanding of the fundamental properties; controlled synthetic and processing conditions. In my research group, we work on synthesis and characterization (mass spectrometry, NMR, optical spectroscopy) of these molecular gold nanoparticles.”