Strong and Elastic Membranes via Hydrogen Bonding Directed Self-Assembly of Atomically Precise Nanoclusters

| openaire: EC/H2020/742829/EU//DRIVEN Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the support by Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Molecular Engineering in Biosynthetic Hybrid Materials (HYBER, 2014‐2019), ERC‐Advanced Grant (DRIVEN), Photonics Research and Innovation (PREIN) Flagship, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India through Nano Mission, Centre of Excellence on Molecular Materials and Functions, IIT Madras, German Research Foundation (DFG, SFB 1027, Project B1) and Max Planck School Matter to Life supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). This work made use of the Nanomicroscopy Center (Aalto‐NMC) premises and the AFM facilities at Aalto University. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Small published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.2D nanomaterials have provided an extraordinary palette of mechanical, electrical, optical, and catalytic properties. Ultrathin 2D nanomaterials are classically produced via exfoliation, delamination, deposition, or advanced synthesis methods using a handful of starting materials. Thus, there is a need to explore more generic avenues to expand the feasibility to the next generation 2D materials beyond atomic and molecular-level covalent networks. In this context, self-assembly of atomically precise noble nanoclusters can, in principle, suggest modular approaches for new generation 2D materials, provided that the ligand engineering allows symmetry breaking and directional internanoparticle interactions. Here the self-assembly of silver nanoclusters (NCs) capped with p-mercaptobenzoic acid ligands (Na4Ag44-pMBA30) into large-area freestanding membranes by trapping the NCs in a transient solvent layer at air–solvent interfaces is demonstrated. The patchy distribution of ligand bundles facilitates symmetry breaking and preferential intralayer hydrogen bondings resulting in strong and elastic membranes. The membranes with Young's modulus of 14.5 ± 0.2 GPa can readily be transferred to different substrates. The assemblies allow detection of Raman active antibiotic molecules with high reproducibility without any need for substrate pretreatment.Peer reviewe