Chiral Hydride Cu₁₈ Clusters Transform to Superatomic Cu₁₅Ag₄ Clusters: Circularly Polarized Luminescence Lighting

Abstract

The manipulation of metal cluster enantiomers and their reconstruction remain challenging. Here, for the first time, we report an enantiomeric pair of hydride copper clusters [Cu 18 H( R/S -PEA) 12 ](BF 4 ) 5 ( R/S-Cu 18 H ) made using designed chiral ligands. By manipulation of R/S-Cu 18 H with Ag + ions, H – ions are released, leading to the reconstruction of 15 Cu atoms. Moreover, 4 Ag atoms replaced Cu atoms at the specific sites, resulting in the formation of homochiral [Cu 15 Ag 4 ( R/S -PEA) 12 ](BF 4 ) 5 ( R/S-Cu 15 Ag 4 ) with an isomorphic metal skeleton. This process was accompanied by a reduction reaction generating two free valence elections in the chiral alloying counterparts, which displayed orange emission. The solid-state R/S-Cu 15 Ag 4 exhibited a photoluminescence quantum yield of 7.02% and excellent circularly polarized luminescence. The chiral transformations were resolved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The development of chiral copper hydride precursor-based metal clusters with chiroptical activities holds tremendous promise for advancing the field of optoelectronics and enabling new applications in lighting, displays, and beyond.