Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
A series of palladium clusters containing from 4 to some hundred Pd atoms in the metal skeleton was prepared and characterized with structural data as well as by chemical properties including catalytic activity. An agreement between X-ray and EXAFS data was obtained for single-crystal low-molecular clusters. Giant clusters approximated as Pd56L60(OCOCH3)180 (L=Phen, Bipy) and Pd561Phen60O60X60 (X = PF6, CIO4, SO4, BF4, CF3COO)were characterized with TEM, SAXS, EXAFS, NMR, and magnetic susceptibility data. The clusters consisting of close-packed metal core and L, X ligands at its periphery could be considered as a bridge between low-molecular clusters and the particles of colloidal metals.