Seminar Title: Single-nanoparticle catalysis at single-turnover and nanometer resolution

Prof. Peng Chen (Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University, USA)

Abstract:
 
   This presentation will describe our work of studying metal nanoparticle catalysis at the single-nanoparticle level with single-molecule super-resolution imaging techniques. I will present how we interrogate the catalytic activity, mechanism, heterogeneous reaction pathways, selectivity, and surface-restructuring-coupled temporal dynamics of individual metal nanoparticles. I will also present our latest work in imaging and resolving catalytic reactions on a single nanocatalyst at nanometer resolution, which maps the reactivity of different surface sites and uncovers diverse spatial reactivity patterns at the nanoscale. This spatial resolution of catalysis also enables us to probe communication of catalytic reactions at different locations on a single nanocatalyst, in much relation to allosteric effects in enzymes.