Prashant Jain

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Biography

Professor Jain received his B.Tech. from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Georgia Tech. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard and a Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley, prior to joining the University of Illinois chemistry faculty. He has affiliations with the Materials Research Lab, the Department of Physics, and the Beckman Institute. His research focuses on the understanding and control of light-matter interactions on the nanoscale and the use of confined light for artificial photosynthesis and imaging atomistic dynamics of complex solids and catalysts.

Research Statement

Light-matter interactions are central in nature, life, and in technology. There arethree aspects of the light-matter interface that we study using spectroscopy, microscopy, and theory:

i) We employ the rich interplay between visible light and metal catalysts for selective formation of energy-rich chemical bonds.

ii) We image with unprecedented resolution chemical reactions on surfaces or in nanoparticles.

iii) We design materials and coax them into exhibiting non-natural optical or optoelectronic phenomena.

We are a diverse team with interest and expertise in spectroscopy, materials science, and condensed matter physics. The tools we use include single-molecule spectroscopy, nanofabrication, high-resolution electron microscopy, and plasmonics. The systems we investigate range from artificial photosynthetic systems to nanophotonic switches. Specific research areas include the following:

Super-Resolution Imaging of Heterogeneous Catalysts. Catalytic processes, despite their importance in the chemical industry as well as in solar-to-fuel conversion, remain poorly understood. This is primarily because of the involvement of surfaces that are often chemically complex and heterogeneous. In most cases, the identity of the active site is still in question. Our lab is using single-molecule super-resolution imaging techniques borrowed from the the biophysics community, and high-resolution electron microscopy, to resolve individual active sites on a catalyst surface. By mapping the distribution, structural composition, and heterogeneity of active sites, we seek to enhance understanding of catalytic materials and processes. Particular focus is on catalysts for water-splitting and CO2 to methanol conversion.

Light-Matter Interactions in the Near Field. The interaction of light with matter is primarily entailed by the excitation of electronic and vibrational modes by the electromagnetic field of light. The characteristic length scale of such excitations is typically on the molecular size scale (ca. 1 Ã…), whereas the characteristic length scale of the electromagnetic field can be defined for a plane wave by its wavelength (ca. 5000 Ã… for visible light). This disparity in length scales between a molecule and the electromagnetic field limits light-matter interactions to common dipole-type processes. By employing strong optical resonances of metal nanostructures to 'squeeze' electromagnetic fields down to the nanoscale (10 Ã…), our lab seeks to bridge the gap between light and molecular excitations and uncover novel photochemistry and photophysical behavior in quantum dots, metalloproteins, chiral molecules, photovoltaic, and photosynthetic systems.

Imaging Phase Transitions in Single Nanocrystals. Phase transitions in solid-state materials often involve interesting dynamics. Since macroscopic solids are typically polycrystalline, such dynamics is smeared out in studies on bulk solids, due to ensemble averaging over different crystalline domains. By acquiring snapshots of a single nanocrystalline domain undergoing a phase transition, our lab is attempting to uncover the dynamic trajectory involved in the nucleation of a new phase. We are developing new optical and spectroscopic methods to acquire snapshots of model phase transitions and also using these techniques to learn new facts about fundamental phenomena such as crystal growth, impurity doping, and correlated electron systems.

Prospective postdocs, students, and collaborators interested in the above research projects are welcome to contact us.

Selected Articles in Journals

• S. Yu, A. J. Wilson, G. Kumari, X. Zhang, and P. K. Jain. Opportunities and challenges of solar-energy-driven carbon dioxide to fuel conversion with plasmonic catalysts," ACS Energy Letters, 2, 2058-2070 (2017).
• D. Dumett Torres, P. Banerjee, S. Pamidighantam, and P. K. Jain. A non-natural wurtzite polymorph of HgSe: A potential 3D topological insulator. Chemistry of Materials, 29, 6356-6366 (2017).
• Y. Kim, A. J. Wilson, and P. K. Jain, "The nature of plasmonically assisted hot-electron transfer in a donor-bridge-acceptor complex," ACS Catalysis, 7, 4360-4365 (2017).
• S. L. White, P. Banerjee, and P. K. Jain, "Liquid-like cationic sub-lattice in copper selenide clusters" Nature Communications, 8, 14514 (2017).
• J. G. Smith and P. K. Jain, "The ligand shell as an energy barrier in surface reactions on transition metal nanoparticles," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 138, 6765-6773 (2016).
• Y. Kim, D. Dumett, and P. K. Jain, "Activation energies in plasmonic catalysis," Nano Letters, 16, 3399-3407 (2016).
• A. L. Routzahn and P. K. Jain, "Luminescence blinking of a reacting quantum dot," Nano Letters, 15, 2504-2509 (2015).
• P. K. Jain, "Plasmon-in-a-box: On the physical nature of few-carrier collective resonances," Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 5, 3112-3119 (2014).
• A. L. Routzahn and P. K. Jain, "Single-nanocrystal reaction trajectories reveal sharp co-operative transitions," Nano Letters, 14, 987-992 (2014).
• S. L. White, J. G. Smith, M. Behl, and P. K. Jain, "Co-operativity in a solid-state nanocrystalline transition," Nature Communications, 4, 2933 (2013).
• J. A. Faucheaux and P. K. Jain, "Plasmons in photocharged ZnO revealing nature of charge dynamics," Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 4, 3024-3030 (2013).
• M. Behl, J. Yeom, Q. Lineberry, P. K. Jain, and M. A. Shannon, "A regenerable oxide-based hydrogen sulphide adsorbent with nanofibrous morphology," Nature Nanotechnology, 7, 810-815 (2012).
• J. B. Rivest, L.-K. Fong, P. K. Jain, M. F. Toney and A. P. Alivisatos, "Size dependence of a temperature-induced solid-solid phase transition in copper (I) sulfide," Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2, 2402 (2011).
• C. L. Choi, H. Li, A. C.K. Olson, P. K. Jain, S. Sivasankar and A. P. Alivisatos, "Spatially-indirect emission in a luminescent nanocrystal molecule," Nano Letters, 11, 2358 (2011).
• J. M. Luther*, P. K. Jain*, T. Ewers, and A. P. Alivisatos, "Localized surface plasmon resonances arising from free carriers in doped quantum dots," Nature Materials,10, 361 (2011) *equal contribution
• P. K. Jain*, L. Amirav*, S. Aloni, and A. P. Alivisatos, "Nanoheterostructure cation exchange: Anionic framework preservation," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 132, 9997 (2010)
• P. K. Jain and M. A. El-Sayed, "Plasmonic coupling in noble metal nanostructures," Chemical Physics Letters, 487, 153 (2010)
• S Sheikholeslami*, Y.-W. Jun*, P. K. Jain*, and A. P. Alivisatos, "Coupling of optical resonances in a compositionally asymmetric plasmonic nanoparticle dimer," Nano Letters, 10, 2655 (2010)
• P. K. Jain, Y. Xiao, R. Walsworth, and A. E. Cohen, "Surface plasmon resonance-enhanced magneto-optics (SuPREMO): Enhanced inter-band Faraday rotation in gold-coated iron oxide nanocrystals," Nano Letters, 9, 1644 (2009)
• P. K. Jain and M. A. El-Sayed, "Noble metal manoparticle pairs: Effect of medium for enhanced nanosensing," Nano Letters, 8, 4347 (2008)
• P. K. Jain, X. Huang, I. H. El-Sayed, and M. A. El-Sayed, "Noble metals at the nanoscale: Optical and photothermal properties and applications in imaging, sensing, biology, and medicine," Accounts of Chemical Research, 41, 1578 (2008)
• P. K. Jain and M. A. El-Sayed, "Surface plasmon resonance sensitivity of metal nanostructures: Physical basis and universal scaling in metal nanoshells," Journal of Physical Chemistry C (Letter), 111, 17451 (2007)
• P. K. Jain and M. A. El-Sayed "Universal scaling of plasmon coupling in metal nanostructures: Extension from particle pairs to nanoshells," Nano Letters, 7, 2854 (2007)
• P. K. Jain, W. Huang, and M. A. El-Sayed "On the universal scaling behavior of the distance decay of plasmon coupling in metal nanoparticle pairs: A plasmon ruler equation," Nano Letters, 7, 2080 (2007)
• P. K. Jain, S. Eustis, and M. A. El-Sayed "Plasmon coupling in gold nanorod assemblies: Optical absorption, Discrete Dipole Approximation simulation and exciton coupling model," Journal of Physical Chemistry B 110, 18243 (2006)
• P. K. Jain, W. Qian, and M. A. El-Sayed "Ultrafast cooling of photoexcited electrons in gold nanoparticle-thiolated DNA conjugates involves the dissociation of the gold-thiol bond," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 128, 2426 (2006)