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ACS – Akron Section Award
November 14, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Dr. Prashant K. Jain, G.L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Afternoon – Technical Lecture
Catalysts Dressed in Light
3:00 PM at The University of Akron, Mary Gladwin Hall 111
Evening Program – Akron Section Award Lecture
Kent State University, Integrated Science Esplanade Commons
5:30 PM Networking
6:30 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Lecture (open to the public)
Dinner Reservations: RSVP at akronacs.org
$30 for members / public and $10 for students
Dr. Prashant K. Jain Bio: Prashant K. Jain grew up in Bombay, where he completed his undergraduate education. He obtained his PhD working with M. A. El-Sayed at Georgia Tech, following which he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. After a Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he is the G. L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Laboratory. He is also a University Scholar and an Affiliate Faculty Member of Physics and the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology (IQUIST). Prof Jain’s lab specializes in nanoscale light–matter interactions and nanoscale chemical imaging. His research website is found at https://nanogold.org.
Afternoon Abstract: Catalysts Dressed in Light. The interaction of light with molecules can be used to access new modes of chemical reactivity; however, this interaction is often difficult to exploit in a universal manner. I will describe how 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. I will describe how catalysts based on plasmonic nanoparticles are allowing 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.
Updates will be posted on akronacs.org.