Department of Chemistry Seminar - Structure Engineering of Carboranyl Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles for Functional Material Construction

Speaker: Professor Cen TANG

Institution: Member of the Early Career Advisory Boards for Chinese Chemical Letters 

Hosted By: Professor Yangjian QUAN

Abstract

Gold nanomaterials have garnered significant attention as versatile materials due to their tunable structures and associated properties. However, the development of gold nanoparticle-based catalysts and biological materials for the precise manipulation of small molecules remains a challenge. A key obstacle is the integration of stability, solubility, and selectivity—multi-faceted properties that are difficult to achieve through conventional anchor-ligand design. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) consist of three essential components: anchors, functional moieties, and counterions. While counterions play a critical role in regulating the properties of other materials such as transition metal complexes and cage molecules, their potential in AuNPs remains underexplored. This presentation will explore the structural characteristics of carboranyl-stabilized gold nanoparticles and introduce strategies for systematically modulating anchors, ligands, and counterions to enhance stability, functionality, and solubility. We will demonstrate how these engineered systems enable regio-selective bromination of aromatics as catalysts, and highlight their efficient recognition and reversal of Ticagrelor, an antithrombotic agent, achieving high levels of efficiency.