Ultrasmall metal nanoparticles (NPs) with a well-defined composition and structure, the so-called metal nanoclusters (NCs, usually smaller than 3 nm in size), represent the forefront subclass of functional NPs. In the past two decades, great progress has been made in precision synthesis, cluster structure resolving, and the discovery of the intriguing physical and chemical properties of metal NCs. Metal NCs with unique electronic structure and atomic precision have broad prospects in various applications. However, there is still a lack of systematic and in-depth discussion on the design rules of metal NCs for various applications and effective methods for engineering metal NCs to directly meet application requirements. In this review, we focus our discussions on the correlation between the applications and structures (and the physical and chemical properties) of metal NCs, highlighting the basic principles of structure- and property-oriented applications of metal NCs. This correlation will provide guidance for the design of metal NCs with the desirable properties to meet application needs. First, we introduce the physical and chemical properties of metal NCs, including discrete electronic structure, precise composition, and chirality, which are distinctly different from larger metal NPs (typically > 3 nm). Then, we discuss the efforts on controlled synthesis and modulation of metal NCs from the atomic to molecular level, followed by highlighting structural- and property-oriented applications. Finally, we put forward some ideas for future work of metal NCs for catalysis and biomedical applications.

中文翻译：

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超小金属纳米团簇的基本原理和应用之间的相关性：催化和生物医学应用的最新进展

具有明确组成和结构的超小型金属纳米颗粒（NP），即所谓的金属纳米团簇（NC，尺寸通常小于3纳米），代表了功能纳米颗粒的最前沿子类。在过去的二十年里，金属NC在精密合成、团簇结构解析以及有趣的物理和化学性质的发现方面取得了巨大进展。金属NC具有独特的电子结构和原子精度，在各种应用中具有广阔的前景。然而，对于各种应用的金属NC的设计规则以及工程金属NC直接满足应用要求的有效方法仍然缺乏系统和深入的讨论。在这篇综述中，我们重点讨论金属NC的应用和结构（以及物理和化学性能）之间的相关性，强调金属NC的结构和性能导向应用的基本原理。这种相关性将为金属NC的设计提供指导，使其具有满足应用需求的理想特性。首先，我们介绍了金属纳米颗粒的物理和化学性质，包括离散的电子结构、精确的成分和手性，这些特性与较大的金属纳米颗粒（通常> 3 nm）明显不同。然后，我们讨论了从原子到分子水平的金属NC的受控合成和调制方面的努力，然后重点介绍了结构和性能导向的应用。最后，我们对金属NCs在催化和生物医学应用方面的未来工作提出了一些想法。