Speaker: Mischa Bonn, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research

Panelist: Haixia (Alice) Zhang, Peking University

Time: 20:00-21:30 p.m., May 12, 2023, GMT+8

Venue: Long press to identify the QR code and jump to the webpage!


Abstract:

The importance of water across many disciplines of science and engineering cannot be overstated. Water shapes our blue planet, is a unique solvent in chemistry, the ‘elixir of life’ in biology, a key corrosion agent in engineering, and a complex fluid with a multitude of anomalies in its phase behavior in physics.

Despite its importance, a full understanding of water in its various forms and systems remains challenging. This is particularly true for interfacial water. Water interfaces differ from the bulk, in both their physical structure and chemical composition. A particularly fascinating interface is the water-graphene interface. Water has been reported to flow through carbon nanotubes (essentially curved graphene) with remarkably low resistance. Large-area graphene can serve as an electrochemical electrode, allowing detailed studies of electrochemical processes.

Surface-specific spectroscopy on water in contact with graphene enable elucidating electrochemistry at the molecular level, and investigating the origin of the anomalous friction between water as it flows along graphene.

Biography:

Prof. Dr. Mischa Bonn joined the Max Planck Society in 2011 as one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, heading the division “Molecular Spectroscopy”. Mischa completed his MSc degree in physical chemistry - with highest honors - in 1993 at the University of Amsterdam (NL) and performed his PhD research (1993-1996) at the FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Amsterdam. After two postdoctoral stays, at the Fritz Haber Institute (1997-1999) and at Columbia University, New York (1998-1999), he became assistant professor in 1999 at Leiden University, to receive tenure and promotion to associate professor in 2002.

In 2004, he returned to the Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Amsterdam as group leader. He has been an extraordinary professor at the University of Amsterdam since 2005 and an honorary professor at Mainz University since 2012. Mischa serves as Deputy Editor for The Journal of Chemical Physics, and as a member of the editorial advisory board of J. Am. Chem. Soc., amongst others. Mischa has won several prizes and awards for his work, including the Gold Medal from the Royal Dutch Chemical Society and the Van ’t Hoff Award from the Deutsche Bunsengesellschaft. His scientific interests focus on the development and application of laser-based (ultrafast) spectroscopies to advance our understanding of natural phenomena, specifically at interfaces – often involving Mischa’s favorite molecule: water.

Source: iCANX