Awardee: Prof Jain’s is G. L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry and University Scholar at UIUC. His lab specializes in nanoscale light–matter interactions and nanoscale chemical imaging. His noteworthy recent contributions are discoveries of plasmon resonances in doped nanocrystals and plasmonic redox catalysis. His group’s website is https://nanogold.org. Prashant is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, of the Royal Society of Chemistry, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Jain will be presenting his research in two seminars:
University of Akron, Mary Gladwin Hall, 3 PM, November 14, 2023
Kent State University, Integrated Science Commons, 7 PM, November 14, 2023
Details and reservations for dinner before the evening seminar can be found here.
Evening Abstract: Interaction of light with molecules can access new modes of chemical reactivity; however, this interaction is often difficult to exploit in a universal manner. Plasmonics is proving to be a general strategy for interfacing photons with molecules and activating chemical transformations. This strategy involves heterogeneous catalysts comprised of plasmonic nanoparticles. Plasmonic excitation of the catalyst generates electronically and vibrationally excited states, which modify chemical activity at the interface and even induce emergent activity. Catalysts based on plasmonic nanoparticles allow light to be used as a redox equivalent in chemical reactions, for driving non-equilibrium chemical processes, for modifying product selectivity, for photosynthesizing fuels, and for boosting electrochemical conversions. The ultimate vision is a future where plasmonic excitations can be used to power chemical transformations or direct them with bond-level precision.