Levitodynamics enters the world of nanochemistry
In our recent paper, published in ACS Nano, we exploit our high level of isolation and dynamical control of levitated nanoparticles in vacuum to study surface chemistry effects under controlled pressure and surrounding gas composition.
Using a single nanoparticle avoids ensemble averages and allows to study charge, mass, density and refractive index changes with excellent spatial and temporal resolution. We demonstrate the potential of this versatile platform by studying the Zhuravlev model in silica particles.
Reference
Francesco Ricci, Marc T. Cuairan, Andreas W. Schell, Erik Hebestreit, Raúl A. Rica, Nadine Meyer, and Romain Quidant. A Chemical Nanoreactor Based on a Levitated Nanoparticle in Vacuum. ACS Nano 2022 16 (6), 8677-8683. doi: external page 10.1021/acsnano.2c01693