The study asks how atomically precise metal nanoclusters can be assembled into programmable three-dimensional structures while retaining their discrete cores. Rheological measurements of six gold-nanocluster systems and molecular-dynamics simulations link longer ligand shells and smaller cores to greater mobility. Nitrene-mediated two-photon lithography covalently crosslinks ligand shells; the liquid-like Au25–C12 resist yields smoother architectures with approximately 200 nm suspended linewidths. Electrical measurements show p-type semiconducting behavior and about three orders of magnitude l

Nature Communications · 2026

Tiny, precisely defined gold clusters can become intricate 3D structures. The trick is to give their molecular shells room to move—then staple them together with light.

A material’s ability to flow can decide how well it holds a shape.

First, choose your building block.

Au₂₅ means exactly 25 gold atoms. A ligand is an organic molecule coating the core; C₄ and C₁₂ denote chains of 4 and 12 carbons.

Make room.

Short ligands leave little free volume. The assembly is rigid and powder-like.

Staple with light.

What connects these views? The paper proposes that mobility lets short-lived nitrenes encounter C–H bonds and lets clusters fill gaps before the network sets. The animation illustrates this mechanism; it does not simulate reaction kinetics.

A softer shell changes the whole material.

Rheology describes how a material flows and deforms. For the Au₂₅ series, extending the ligand from C₄ to C₁₂ lowers the measured complex modulus by nearly three orders of magnitude.

G* at 314 rad s⁻¹ · log scale. The state classification describes rheological behavior, rather than a thermodynamic phase transition. L/D is an empirical screening descriptor.

The gold stays gold. The shells make the connection.

A bifunctional fluorinated diazide, bisFPA, becomes a molecular staple. Explore the three steps.

Two-photon excitation concentrates the reaction at the focus. Tracing that focus through space writes a 3D path; development removes the uncured material.

Structures with an electronic identity.

The printed Au₂₅–C₁₂ assembly behaves as a p-type semiconductor. Light builds the architecture while preserving the clusters’ molecular-scale character.

Fine, suspended features

The researchers fabricated true 3D frameworks with suspended struts around 200 nm wide, as well as micropores around 200 nm in diameter.

Lower electrical resistivity

At ambient pressure, the printed assembly’s resistivity was about 1,000 times lower than a naphthalene-thiolated Au₂₅ single-crystal reference, a different ligand system.

A path toward circuitry

Hall measurements identify hole-dominated transport. Combining distinct nanocluster materials into p–n junctions and logic gates is a proposed next direction.

From the actual experiment.

Watch a structure take shape.

The supplementary recording follows the printing of three-dimensional metal-nanocluster structures.

Shiyu Ji et al., © The Authors 2026. Reproduced under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Original content unchanged; converted to WebM and proportionally resized for display.

10 mg mL⁻¹ nanoclusters in toluene, with 10 wt% diazide linker.

CAD paths, sliced at 100 nm, guide a 515 nm femtosecond laser.

Repeated dichloromethane rinses remove uncured resist, leaving the crosslinked architecture.

Methods: “Preparation of nanocluster photoresist” and “TPL fabrication process.”

Go from reading the result to exploring the idea.

Viscoelasticity-guided covalent assembly of atomically precise nanoclusters via nitrene-mediated two-photon lithography

Shiyu Ji and colleagues · Nature Communications 17, 9843 (2026)

Original figures are reproduced unmodified. The supplementary movie retains its complete content with a format conversion and proportional resizing. Interactive diagrams are independent conceptual teaching models; the graphical abstract is an AI-generated conceptual illustration.