Physicists discover structures of gold nanoclusters


Theoretical electron scattering intensities from negatively charged gold nanclusters containing 24 atoms, calculated for the structures shown at the top. Each of the curves is denoted by a symbol that corresponds to a particular structure. Shown at the bottom is the experimental scattering data (solid red line) together with the calculated one that fits it in the best way (dotted line) — that is, the tubular, capsule-like, structure marked G. The theoretically predicted best-fit structure is shown also on the right, with atoms in individual layer of the nanotube colored differently. The green strip accompanying the experimental data shows the experimental uncertainty.

Credit: Georgia Tech/Uzi Landman

Knowing the structures of gold that are naturally formed is useful to gather more building blocks for usage in nanotechnology and nanoscale technology