Electrocatalytic Properties of Atomically Precise Electrocatalysts

A well-defined model nanocatalyst is absolutely necessary to reveal the detailed mechanism of electro-catalysis and thereby to lead to the development of a new efficient electro-catalyst. Atomically regulated metal nanoclusters will allow us to systematically optimize the electrochemical and surface properties suitable for electro-catalysis, giving a potent platform for precisely tuned electro-catalysis. Nanoclusters are made up of metal atoms and ligands with diameters ranging from 2 to 3 nm. Gold nanoclusters with precise atomic numbers have received a lot of attention due to their stability and unusual structure. More new ways for synthesizing atomically accurate gold nanoclusters have been developed as a result of more extensive research on gold nanoclusters. Recent advances in the electrochemistry of atomically accurate metal nanoclusters and their applications in electro-catalysis are discussed in this account. Other metal nanoclusters have made far less progress in electrochemical investigations than gold nanoclusters; hence, this chapter focuses on electro-catalyst applications of metal-based nanoclusters. Voltammetry has proven to be particularly effective in studying the electrical structure of metal nanoclusters.