Abstract

Plasmonics deals with understanding and manipulating the interaction between light and matter at a scale that is significantly smaller than the wavelength of light (e.g., metal nanoparticles), and chemical nanoplasmonics is mainly about the study and use of nanoscale chemistry for advancing plasmonics and the use of plasmonics to address key issues and challenges in chemistry and other related fields. Designing, synthesizing and controlling metal nanostructures with a superhigh precision for a large number of structures are the keys to the reliable and widespread use of plasmonic nanostructures in chemistry, materials science, optics, nanoscience, biotechnology and medicine. Here, I will share the design, synthetic strategies and characterization results of molecularly tunable and structurally precise and reproducible plasmonic nanostructures including metal nanogap structures, multi-component metal nanoparticles and mechanically interlocked nanostructures including gold nanocatenanes and nanorotaxanes with strong, controllable and quantifiable plasmonic signals (e.g., plasmonic nanogap-enhanced Raman scattering). I will then show their potential in addressing some of important challenges in plasmonics and biotechnology, and discuss how these new plasmonic materials and platforms can lead us to new breakthroughs in nanochemistry, next-generation disease diagnostics, molecular computing and nanomachines/nanorobotics.

Biography

Jwa-Min Nam received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Northwestern University (Chad Mirkin & Mark Ratner) (2004) and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley (Jay Groves) (2004-2005). Dr. Nam started his independent career as an assistant professor at Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University in 2006. He is currently a full professor in chemistry and an adjunct professor in biological sciences at Seoul National University. He is currently serving as the Vice Dean (Planning & Public Relations) of College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, and he is also the Director, SNU Science Outreach Center, Seoul National University. He served as a Vice Chair of Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University (2019-2021). He has served as various roles (Executive Committee Member, Center Director and Division Leader) for Bio-MAX Institute, Seoul National University.

He has been elected as a Fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) (2024). He is a member of Global R&D Special Committee, the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology (Republic of Korea), and was a member of Samsung Electronics Future Technology Committee (2019-2021). He is also serving as an Outside Director, Emcog, Inc. Jwa-Min Nam was a key leading person in establishing the Young Korean Academy of Science and Technology (Y-KAST), and served as the Vice-Chair & Founding Division Leader, Division of Science, Y-KAST (2017-2019).

Jwa-Min Nam won many awards including Collegiate Inventors Award, National Inventors Hall of Fame, USA & USPTO (2004), Victor K. LaMer Award, American Chemical Society (2006), Outstanding Research Achievement Award, Ministry of Edu., Sci. & Tech., Republic of Korea (2010), Presidential Young Scientist Award, President of the Republic of Korea (2012), Distinguished Lectureship Award, Chemical Society of Japan (2013), Minister’s Basic Research Award from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea (2017), S-OIL Outstanding Thesis Advisor Award (2019), SNU Excellence in Research Award, the President, Seoul National University (2021), Outstanding Researcher Award, Inorganic Chemistry Division, the Korean Chemical Society (2022) and the Basic Science Award, the Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea (2022).

He is currently serving as a Senior Editor of Accounts of Chemical Research (ACS Publications) (2025-Current). He served as an Associate Editor (2020-2023) and an Executive Editor (2024) of Nano Letters (ACS Publications). He is also on the editorial advisory boards of ACS Central Science (ACS Publications), Small Methods (Wiley-VCH), Particle & Particle Systems Characterization (Wiley-VCH), ChemNanoMat (Wiley-VCH), Sensors and Diagnostics (RSC) and Journal of Nanobiotechnology (BMC).

Jwa-Min’s research interests include plasmonic metal nanoparticles, surface-enhanced spectroscopy, nanobiosensors, nanobiocomputing, nanomachines and nanoparticle-based devices.