| Project Detail |
We are trying to understand how being in the first nanometer from the boundary between solid and liquid affects molecular chemical reactions and physical processes compared to when the molecules are very far away from this boundary.
Lay summary
Most important chemical, physical, technological and biological processes are happening near the interface between two phases: whether it is on a surface of the ocean, atop of the membrane in a living cell or on an electrode in a Li-ion battery inside a smartphone. These examples highlight just a tiny fraction of the vast number of processes that benefit from the unique environment that the interfacial region brings about. It is truly remarkable how different the first nanometer from the surface is from the bulk of any material, whether it is water, metal or a piece of rock. However, this boundary region is extremely difficult to interrogate experimentally and to directly watch the process in question occurring in real time. Especially, when "real time" means natural time scale for molecules,that is a period when chemical bonds vibrate, break, form and rearrange. This scale (called femtosecond) is as short when compared to a second as a second itself is short when compared to the age of the Universe.
This project is aimed at advancing the state-of-the-art laser spectroscopic tools to directly watch chemical reactions at so-called buried interfaces: the boundary between solid and liquid without interference from the bulk of these phases. It is our ultimate goal to not only directly watch the reactions happening specifically in this nanometer thin layer at the interface, but also to manipulate them by applying specifically tailored electric fields and surface-attached molecular arrangements. We have developed a broad selection of approaches to attack this problem from multiple sides. It is our hope that the fundamental findings that we expect to obtain from the experiments will be useful for applied science to enhance the current catalysis and battery techonologies.
We are trying to understand how being in the first nanometer from the boundary between solid and liquid affects molecular chemical reactions and physical processes compared to when the molecules are very far away from this boundary.
Lay summary
Most important chemical, physical, technological and biological processes are happening near the interface between two phases: whether it is on a surface of the ocean, atop of the membrane in a living cell or on an electrode in a Li-ion battery inside a smartphone. These examples highlight just a tiny fraction of the vast number of processes that benefit from the unique environment that the interfacial region brings about. It is truly remarkable how different the first nanometer from the surface is from the bulk of any material, whether it is water, metal or a piece of rock. However, this boundary region is extremely difficult to interrogate experimentally and to directly watch the process in question occurring in real time. Especially, when "real time" means natural time scale for molecules, that is a period when chemical bonds vibrate, break, form and rearrange. This scale (called femtosecond) is as short when compared to a second as a second itself is short when compared to the age of the Universe.
This project is aimed at advancing the state-of-the-art laser spectroscopic tools to directly watch chemical reactions at so-called buried interfaces: the boundary between solid and liquid without interference from the bulk of these phases. It is our ultimate goal to not only directly watch the reactions happening specifically in this nanometer thin layer at the interface, but also to manipulate them by applying specifically tailored electric fields and surface-attached molecular arrangements. We have developed a broad selection of approaches to attack this problem from multiple sides. It is our hope that the fundamental findings that we expect to obtain from the experiments will be useful for applied science to enhance the current catalysis and battery techonologies. |
