Chirality and electronic structure of the thiolate-protected [Au.sub.38] nanocluster

The density-functional theory computations and powder X-ray crystallography are applied to study the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the thiolate-protected [Au.sub.38][(SR).sub.24] cluster. The study demonstrated a new mechanism for the strong chiral response of thiolate-protected gold clusters with achiral metal cores and ligands.