Ultrasmall nanoclusters are emerging nanocatalysts due to their distinct physico-chemical properties. However, the instability and agglomeration of these nanoclusters restrict their practical application. Herein, we designed a negatively charged cross-linked polystyrene (PS) microsphere as support and decorated it with positively charged ultrasmall [Au₄Cu₅(Dppm)₂(C₆H₁₁S)₆]⁺[BPh₄]⁻ (Au₄Cu₅, in which Dppm stands for bis-(diphenylphosphino)methane) nanoclusters through strong electrostatic adsorption, as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The PS@Au₄Cu₅ nanocomposites were well-dispersed in water, exhibiting enhanced catalytic activity for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol to produce 4-aminophenol. These findings open promising opportunities for supported nanocluster catalysis.

中文翻译：

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Au4Cu5纳米团簇修饰聚苯乙烯微球及其在4-硝基苯酚催化还原中的应用

超小纳米团簇由于其独特的物理化学性质而成为新兴的纳米催化剂。然而，这些纳米团簇的不稳定性和团聚限制了它们的实际应用。在此，我们设计了一种带负电荷的交联聚苯乙烯 (PS) 微球作为载体，并用带正电荷的超小 [Au ₄ Cu ₅ (Dppm) ₂ (C ₆ H ₁₁ S) ₆ ] ⁺ [BPh ₄ ] ^- (Au ₄铜₅，其中 Dppm 代表双（二苯基膦）甲烷）纳米团簇通过强静电吸附，如 X 射线光电子能谱所证明的那样。PS@Au ₄ Cu ₅纳米复合材料在水中分散良好，对4-硝基苯酚的还原反应生成4-氨基苯酚表现出增强的催化活性。这些发现为支持的纳米团簇催化提供了有希望的机会。