Modulation of the surface active site number in Pt1Ag14 nanoclusters by ligand engineering to boost photocatalytic H <sub>2</sub> production
Controlling the number of surface active sites on catalysts at the atomic level remains challenging. Herein, we synthesize two Pt1Ag14 nanoclusters sharing the same Pt1Ag14 framework but exposing different numbers of Ag sites, Pt<sub>1</sub>Ag<sub>14</sub>[P(Ph-<i>p</i>-OMe)<sub>3</sub>]<sub>7</sub>(SPh)<sub>6</sub> (<b>Pt</b><sub><b>1</b></sub><b>Ag</b><sub><b>14</b></sub><b>-1</b>) and Pt<sub>1</sub>Ag<sub>14</sub>[P(Ph-<i>p</i>-OMe)<sub>3</sub>]<sub>6</sub>(SCH<sub>2</sub>CH<sub>2</sub>Ph)<sub>6</sub> (<b>Pt</b><sub><b>1</b></sub><b>Ag</b><sub><b>14</b></sub><b>-2</b>). <b>Pt</b><sub><b>1</b></sub><b>Ag</b><sub><b>14</b></sub><b>-2</b>, which exposes two Ag sites owing to terminal phosphine detachment, exhibits a significantly higher H<sub>2</sub> evolution rate of 891.6 µmol g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> compared with 249.4 µmol g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> for Pt1Ag14-1. Mechanistic studies reveal that ligand-induced active-site variation accelerates interfacial charge transfer and enhances H* adsorption on Ag sites.
Authors
- Linlin Yu
Institutions
- Qingdao University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Chemical Communications
- Published
- 2026-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cc06595j
- Primary Topic
- Nanocluster Synthesis and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00