Nano camera can monitor chemical reactions in real time

Recently, a research team from the University of Cambridge in the UK used molecular glue to combine tiny semiconductor nanocrystals and gold nanoparticles to create a nano-camera that can monitor chemical reactions in real time
.

The research results were recently published in "Nature-Nanotechnology"

This camera collects light in a semiconductor and induces the electron transfer process that occurs in photosynthesis, which can be monitored with gold nanoparticle sensors and spectroscopy technology
.

They can use cameras to observe chemical reactions that have not been directly observed before, and have a wide range of potential applications, such as improving photocatalysis and photovoltaic renewable energy

On the molecular scale, nature controls the collection of complex structures through a process of self-limitation
.

However, simulating these processes in a laboratory is usually time-consuming, expensive, and relies on complex procedures

To make a nanocamera, the team added individual components and the molecules they wanted to observe into water at room temperature
.

In the past, in the absence of quantum dots, when gold nanoparticles were mixed with molecular glue, their components would aggregate indefinitely and fall out of the solution

When the researchers mixed these ingredients together, the team used spectroscopy to observe chemical reactions in real time
.

Using the camera, they can observe the formation of free radical species and the products of their combination, such as two free radicals forming a reversible carbon-carbon bond

"Considering the number of metal and semiconductor building blocks that can be coupled together using this chemical substance, this platform is really a huge toolbox
.

It provides imaging of chemical reactions and snapshots and sensing of monitored chemical systems.

Researchers are currently working to further develop more application areas, making them move towards artificial photosynthetic systems and photosynthetic catalysis, so that the electron transfer process can be directly observed in real time in the system
.

In addition, the team is also studying the mechanism of carbon-carbon bond formation and electrode interfaces for battery applications