Synthesis, Characterization, Reactivity, and Electrochemistry of Palladium Monolayer Protected Clusters Francis P. Zamborini, Stephen M. Gross, and Royce W. Murray* Kenan Laboratories of Chemistry, University of North Carolina CB#3290, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290 Received July 24, 2000. In Final Form: November 8, 2000 This paper describes the synthesis, characterization, reactivity, and electrochemistry of monolayer- protected clusters (MPCs) of palladium that are passivated by monolayers of hexanethiolate or dodecanethiolate ligands. The synthetic product is sensitive to the thiol:Pd ratio used in the reaction mixture: a 1:1 ratio or smaller ratio produces metallic Pd(0) clusters that are similar to analogously prepared Au MPCs, but much more ligand-rich, whereas g2:1 ratios yield a very different material that is either extremely small Pd(0) clusters or a form of Pd(II) alkanethiolate complex. The monolayers of the metallic Pd(0) MPCs that are synthesized using small thiol:Pd ratios can be modified by ligand place- exchange and coupling reactions. The electrochemistry of the Pd core and of electroactive labels attached to the alkanethiolate ligands was studied. Quantized double-layer core charging is seen but less clearly than with Au MPCs. The Pd nanoparticles were examined using NMR, FTIR, UV-vis, TEM, TGA, and elemental analysis. Introduction The fabrication of materials with nanometer-sized dimensions is an important area of research. Nanoma- terials composed of, for example, carbon, 1 polymers, 2 semiconductors, 3 and metals 4 have been synthesized and studied intensely. Metal nanoclusters and colloids are currently receiving attention because of their interesting optical 5 and electronic 6 properties. The control of shape (rods, 7 wires, 8 and cubes 9 ) and size has been demonstrated with a wide range of metals and synthetic procedures. The metal particles are often stable only as suspensions and tend to irreversibly aggregate over time or when removed from solvent, which limits both their manipula- tion and the range of analytical tools that can be applied to them. Stabilization of metal clusters by ligand coatings can, however, enable further manipulation, control solubility characterization, and facilitate their analysis. Brust et al., 10 combining techniques used in traditional colloid science with those of self-assembly, synthesized 1-3 nm diameter ligand-stabilized Au clusters by protecting the Au with a self-assembled monolayer of dodecanethiolate ligands. These monolayer protected clusters (MPCs) are easy to prepare and handle and can be characterized by the same analytical tools that are used for the analysis of small molecules. A chief enabling attribute of the monolayer protection is the ability to isolate the MPCs as solid, solvent-free powders, without fusion or aggregation of the Au core. The solids can typically be redissolved, unchanged, in nonpolar solvents like toluene and dichlo- romethane. Research on MPCs since the Brust report 1 has been reviewed. 11 Alkanethiolate-protected Au MPCs are prepared in toluene by reacting AuCl 4 - with alkanethiols (HS(CH 2 ) n - CH 3 , n ) 3-23) and then with BH 4 - . The resulting Au core size decreases with increasing thiol:Au reaction mole ratio. 12 The alkanethiolate MPCs have been studied using a variety of analytical techniques. The nature of the alkanethiolate ligands has been studied with FTIR, 13 (1) (a) Prato, M. J. Mater. Chem. 1997, 7, 1097. (b) Subramoney, S. Adv. Mater. 1998, 10, 1157. (2) (a) Marinakos, S. M.; Novak, J. P.; Brousseau, L. C., III; House, A. B.; Edeki, E. M.; Feldhaus, J. C.; Feldheim, D. L. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 8518. (b) Wu, C.; Aizhen, N.; Leung, L. M.; Lam, T. S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 1954. (c) Demoustier-Champagne, S.; Stavaux, P.-Y. Chem. Mater. 1999, 11, 829. (3) (a) Heath, J. 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