The shifts observed experimentally match our expectations; elongated Zr cus -Zr cus pairs should disappear as they get bridged by GO, and the shorter Zr cus -Zr cus pairs should shift to higher r because the average valency of Zr sites increases after GO binding. Remarkably, the cluster dehydration causes irreversible structural changes, and the metal nodes do not reform the higher symmetry octahedron after re-immersing in water (see Figure ).