Bulk-like Compressibility of the Au-Au Metallic Bond in the Atomically Precise Au25 Cluster
Abstract
We present a high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of the atomically precise Au25(PET)18q cluster (q=−1,0) up to 10 GPa under strictly hydrostatic conditions. Our crystallographic analysis provides direct evidence for the pressure-induced phase transitions previously suggested by spectroscopic studies. Structural refinements reveal that the cluster accommodates compression through the reorganization of the flexible ligand shell and secondary distortions of the staple motifs, while the Au13 icosahedral core remains intact. Notably, the internal Au-Au distances exhibit a monotonic contraction that quantitatively mirrors the compressibility of bulk gold. This invariant rigidity at the sub-nanometer scale demonstrates that the fundamental stiffness of the metallic bond is preserved regardless of size. Our findings reconcile previous contradictions in the elasticity of metal nanostructures by isolating the intrinsic mechanical response of the gold kernel from extrinsic structural and experimental artifacts.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{martinsanchez2026bulklike,
title = {{Bulk-like Compressibility of the Au-Au Metallic Bond in the Atomically Precise $\mathrmAu_25$ Cluster}},
author = {Camino Martín-Sánchez and Khadijetou Ahmed Ethmane and Nicholas Giamboni and Latévi Max Lawson Daku and Céline Besnard and Thomas Bürgi},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.11802},
eprint = {2606.11802},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.11802},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Bulk-like Compressibility of the Au-Au Metallic Bond in the Atomically Precise Au_25 Cluster
AU - Camino Martín-Sánchez
AU - Khadijetou Ahmed Ethmane
AU - Nicholas Giamboni
AU - Latévi Max Lawson Daku
AU - Céline Besnard
AU - Thomas Bürgi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/10
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.11802
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.11802
AB - We present a high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of the atomically precise Au_25(PET)_18^q cluster (q=−1,0) up to 10 GPa under strictly hydrostatic conditions. Our crystallographic analysis provides direct evidence for the pressure-induced phase transitions previously suggested by spectroscopic studies. Structural refinements reveal that the cluster accommodates compression through the reorganization of the flexible ligand shell and secondary distortions of the staple motifs, while the Au_13 icosahedral core remains intact. Notably, the internal Au-Au distances exhibit a monotonic contraction that quantitatively mirrors the compressibility of bulk gold. This invariant rigidity at the sub-nanometer scale demonstrates that the fundamental stiffness of the metallic bond is preserved regardless of size. Our findings reconcile previous contradictions in the elasticity of metal nanostructures by isolating the intrinsic mechanical response of the gold kernel from extrinsic structural and experimental artifacts.
ER -