Single Particle Plasmonics for Materials Science and Single Particle Catalysis

Single particle nanoplasmonic sensing and spectroscopy is a powerful and at the same time relatively easy-to-implement research method that allows monitoring of changes in the structure and properties of metal nanoparticles in real time and with only few restrictions in terms of surrounding medium, temperature and pressure. Consequently, it has been successfully used in materials science applications to, for instance, reveal the impact of size and shape of single metal nanoparticles on the thermodynamics of metal hydride formation and decomposition. In this Perspective, we review and discuss the research efforts that have spurred key advances in the development of single particle nanoplasmonic sensing and spectroscopy as a research tool in materials science. On this background we then assess the prospects and challenges toward its application in single particle catalysis, with the aim to enable operando studies of the relationship between metal nanoparticle structure or oxidation state and catalytic performance.