Catalytic Activity Coupled with Structural Stability within a Heterodimeric Au29(SR)19 Cluster

Catalytic activity and stability are two key criteria for judging the overall quality of a catalyst. However, catalyst deactivation often occurs with highly efficient activity in that it can undergo restructuring, decomposition, or sintering during a chemical reaction. Here, we report that catalytic activity and stability can be efficiently coupled together in a heterodimeric gold cluster, i.e., Au(SR) (where SR stands for thiolate), that is viewed as two functional units fused by sharing four common Au atoms: one functional unit that is constructed from the half structure of homodimeric Au(SR) cluster can impact catalytic reactivity, and the other functional unit that is composed of the half structure of homodimeric Au(SR) cluster can hold structural stability, which in turn enables an exclusively cooperative effect within this heterodimeric catalyst. This exploration of the intraparticle catalytic synergism may bring a perspective for understanding fundamental catalysis and further improving catalytic properties.