From the initial experimental realization of the idea that changing the shape of a metallic nanoparticle changes its color, the field of plasmonics has emerged as both a colorful and highly practical field of chemistry. While this field is rooted in the optical properties and chemistry of the noble metals, more recently, interest in more sustainable metals, such as Aluminum, has emerged. The synthetic chemistry of Aluminum nanocrystals, however, appears to be a unique chemical frontier in comparison with noble metal nanoparticle chemistry. We have begun to examine how the nucleation and growth of Al nanocrystals can be controlled by solvent complexation, and how the surface of Al NCs can be modified to control its properties even further. Al NCs provide their own unique surface chemistry to enable new properties of surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and provide a platform for the growth of functional surface layers such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Earth-abundant plasmonic nanoparticles are playing an increasingly important role in photocatalysis, where, when combined with reactive species at their surfaces, they can lower the barrier to chemical processes when illuminated. This “antenna-reactor” structure has been shown to increase turnover rates and quantum efficiencies of chemical reactions while the reaction proceeds at far lower temperatures than under conventional thermocatalytic conditions.

<b>Award Address</b> (ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry sponsored by the Colgate-Palmolive Company). Tunable plasmonic nanoparticles: New materials and new applications

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.

Award Address (ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry sponsored by the Colgate-Palmolive Company). Tunable plasmonic nanoparticles: New materials and new applications