The 7th International Conference on Tip-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS7), co-organized by the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Xiamen University, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, was held in the Science and Arts Center of Xiamen University from November 9 to 12, 2019. The first TERS conference was held in 2009 by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) of the United Kingdom, and then successively held in the United Kingdom (2011), Switzerland (2013), Brazil (2014), Japan (2015) and the United States (2017). TERS has been developed into an important platform for nanospectroscopy community， from both scientific and industrial fields all over the world. This is the first time for this series conference held in China.
Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), combined scanning probing microscope and Raman spectroscopy, is able to simultaneously record morphology and chemical information of the sample surface. It has been widely used in surface/interface sciences, materials, biology, electrochemistry and other fields because of the sub-nanometer spatial resolution and single-molecule sensitivity. In recent years, under the condition of ultra-high vacuum and ultra-low temperature, spectral imaging of different vibration modes within a single molecule and a spatial resolution at the sub-molecular level have been achieved by TERS, which further demonstrates the unique advantages of TERS in chemical analysis from nanoscale to molecular scale.
TERS7 attracted 84 representatives from 14 countries (the United States, Brazil, Russia, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Iran, France, Belgium, Spain and China), including top scientists from physics, chemistry, materials and other related fields. All the participants deeply discussed topics about the basic fundamentals of TERS, tip preparation, instrumental methods and system research to explore the frontier of TERS development from different disciplinary perspectives. In particular, experts in the fields of nanoscale infrared and electroluminescence were invited to attend the conference to explore the possibility of future integration and development in the field of nanospectroscopy. This conference promoted in-depth exchanges and cooperation between domestic and international counterparts in different fields.
Professor Bin Ren, chairman of the conference, presided over the opening ceremony. He introduced the history and current status of Xiamen University and the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Xiamen University. He especially pointed out that “Today is a special day for TERS. On November 10, 1999, 20 years ago, the first TERS paper was officially submitted. So today can be considered the 20th anniversary of TERS. Today, 20 years later, we have witnessed the vigorous development of TERS.” The conference continued the tradition of a single session, with 10 keynote talks, 27 oral presentations and 20 posters. In particular, the conference organized a one-hour panel discussion to discuss the future development of TERS.
To encourage the in-depth academic exchange, TERS7 not only allocated enough time for discussion, but also carefully arranged the poster session, instrument sponsor booths and coffee breaks in the same area to promote in-depth academic exchanges among participants. All the keynote speakers and the Steering Committee members evaluated the posters and selected seven best poster awards sponsored by Analytical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.
During the lunch break, Professor Bin Ren guided the delegates to visit the laser spectroscopy laboratory and shared experiences in instrument development and management.
At the closing ceremony, Professor Bin Ren announced that the 8th International Conference on Tip-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS8) will be held in Paris, France. Professor Emmanuel Maisonhaute from Sorbonne University of France invited representatives to attend the conference for another meeting in Paris, France two years later.
After the conference, the participants expressed their appreciation on the organization and academic level of the conference and their hope to come to Xiamen University for academic exchanges. Professor Ado Jorio from Brazil wrote: “it was a big pleasure meeting you all again. Bin and his crew did a really great job and the conference was a success.” Professor Xiaoji Xu from the United States wrote: “once again, I enjoy the TERS-7 conference very much! It is perfect.” Prof. Sergey khrintzev from Russia wrote: “the TERS7 conference was perfectly organized by you. It was cool, indeed, in my experience it is the best conference.” Professor George Schatz, chief editor of JPC, wrote: “The TERS7 meeting was incredible. The visit to Xiamen University was also terrific. You have an amazing environment, and also a great place to live.”
The conference was supported by Horiba JY, Renishaw, TELTEC, HÜBNER Photonics, NT-MDT, Ostec, NT-MDT Spectrum Instrument, Chroma, Unisoku, Meta, Witec, Changchun New Industries Optoelectronics and Scientaomicron, as well as Analytical Chemistry of ACS.
