When molecules are placed inside the strongly-enhanced plasmonic optical field, their chemistry can be altered. The proximity of large densities of mobile electrons inside the metal can ‘screen’ how transient charges build up on the molecule, which changes their vibrational relaxation, confines their movement, alters their emission and absorption, and produces new molecular states.
Current work:
Room light driven Au atoms
We recently discovered a class of molecules that bind to Au or Ag, and under even very weak illumination can move atoms by fractions of a mm. The secret appears to be a cooperative binding site between pairs of molecules which hand over the metal atoms rapidly. [1]
Single H+ switching in real time
By trapping molecules that are happy to bind and release protons in the nanocavities, we can watch their switching driven by light in real time. The vibrations of the molecule change as the proton changes position, which can be seen as digital switching over seconds. Analysing this data over time gives a measure of pH at the one proton level. [2]
Key papers:
- Extensive photochemical restructuring of molecule-metal surfaces under room light, Nature Comm. (2024); DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46125-x
- Tracking interfacial single-molecule pH and binding dynamics…, Science Advances 7:eabg1790 (2021); DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg1790
Current people involved:
JJB, Chenyang Guo,