Research Director

Takashi Kumagai

Physical Chemistry, Fritz-Haber Institute of the Max-Planck Society
Research Group Leader
website

Outline

Recently it has been demonstrated that localized surface plasmonic polariton generated on plasmonic metal nano-structures can enhance chemical reactions. However, the microscopic mechanism of the process induced via near-field excitation remains poorly understood. This research project investigates near-field induced chemical reactions using a low-temperature scanning probe microscope and aims at obtaining the detailed reaction mechanism at the single-molecule level. The application for methane activation via near-field excitation will also be examined.