Destabilization of Gold Clusters for Controlled Nanosynthesis: From Clusters to Polyhedra

A precisely controlled destabilization of gold thiolate clusters is demonstrated to grow 12 {110}-faceted gold dodecahedra with greatly enhanced catalytic capability, and reveal the growth mechanism by DFT simulations. This greatly advances our understanding of nanocrystal growth and opens a new window for controlling the dissociation of clusters to produce nanocrystals with specific shapes.