Isolation and Purification of Single Gold Nanoclusters by Alternate Pumping Chromatography

Alternate pumping chromatography is applied to obtain atomically precise glutathione-stabilized gold nanoclusters in high purity from synthesized mixtures. On the basis of anion exchange chromatography, the feasibility of isolating a single cluster, Au10GSH10, as well as two different clusters simultaneously (Au25GSH18 and Au29GSH20) is demonstrated. In addition, Au18GSH14, which is present only in trace amounts, is successfully enriched. A simple design procedure is proposed that allows using columns with different retention behavior. Successful experiments with large injection amounts confirm the potential of the concept for preparative-scale productions of high-quality nanoparticulate products.