Chemical Society Seminar: Kevin Stampelcoskie - What’s Next for Ag/Au Metal Clusters?

Zoom link: https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/89133733565

Abstract:

Metal clusters, with exact numbers of metal atoms and stabilizing ligands, have become a rapidly emerging new area of research. The field offers a great deal of opportunity from new synthesis methods to challenging characterization to photophysical studies of their unique optical and electronic properties.

The structure of several stable clusters will be discussed, as well as several newly isolated materials. The unique properties of clusters will be a main focus in this seminar, especially as they can be tuned by controlling the atomic composition of the materials. These distinctive properties of individual clusters have made them attractive candidates for biomedical imaging, catalysis, photonic devices, and light harvesting. Recent findings in cluster properties as they relate to each of these applications will also be highlighted.

Bio:

Dr. Kevin Stamplecoskie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University. Trained as a photochemist, he received his Ph.D. with Prof. J.C. Scaiano at the University of Ottawa and performed postdoctoral research at the University of Notre Dame with Prof. Prashant Kamat. In 2019, Dr. Stamplecoskie was awarded the Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectroscopy Award and in 2011 the Gerhard Closs Award in Photochemistry, in recognition for contribution to photochemistry, its use in synthesizing novel materials, and controlling the structure-function relationship of nanomaterials by photochemical methods. Stamplecoskie’s research on synthesizing metal materials has a strong focus on linking the tunable/controllable synthesis of metal nanomaterials with desired optical/electronic properties. Dr. Stamplecoskie is also passionate about promoting science, performing chemistry “magic” shows for children and people of all ages!

As the Principal Investigator of ‘The Stamplecoskie Group’ at Queen’s University, Dr. Stamplecoskie has fostered a productive and collaborative work environment comprised of talented students from diverse backgrounds. The broad goal of the group is to develop new photonic materials with tunable optical properties for application in several research focus areas: light-harvesting and solar energy, advanced optical electronics, chemical sensing and biomedicine. The engineering of new photonic materials relies heavily on the fundamental understanding of material properties, which is often referred to as the 'structure-function relationship'. In the pursuit of novel photonic materials, there is a culture of excitement for understanding materials at the molecular level and using this understanding to drive innovation.

The Stamplecoskie Group is a mix of both graduate (Ph.D. and M.Sc.) and undergraduate students and consists of both domestic and international students from a variety of countries, including France, Brazil, and India. These students come from a range of chemistry backgrounds, in organic and inorganic synthesis, as well as in cell design and electrochemistry; with one common goal of advancing photonic materials research.