Speaker:

Prof. Dong-Ha Kim, Ewha Women University.

Tittle: Engineering Light–Matter–Spin Interactions: From Surface Plasmon Resonance to Perovskite Optoelectronics and Chiral Spin Photonics

Time: 14:00 July 6th, 2026 (Monday)

Venue: Conference Room No.6, Building No.5

Host: Prof. Xinfeng Liu

Abstract:

The ability to manipulate light–matter interactions across multiple length scales has transformed the design of functional nanomaterials for sensing, optoelectronics, energy conversion, and biomedicine. Over the past two decades, our research has pursued a unified strategy based on molecular and nanoscale engineering to control electromagnetic fields, excited-state dynamics, and spin polarization, establishing a continuous evolution from plasmonic nanoscience to chiral spin photonics.

Our early work focused on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in noble-metal nanostructures, where precise control of nanoparticle morphology, interparticle coupling, and hierarchical self-assembly enabled strong electromagnetic field confinement. These plasmonic nanoarchitectures produced reproducible hot spots for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, plasmon-enhanced fluorescence, photothermal imaging, and photodynamic therapy, while revealing fundamental relationships between nanoscale structure and optical enhancement. More recently, plasmonic concepts have been extended beyond photonics to plasmon-assisted electrocatalysis, where light-driven local electric fields and spin polarization enhance charge-transfer kinetics and catalytic efficiency for sustainable energy conversion.

Building upon these plasmonic platforms, we developed supramolecular strategies for constructing highly ordered hybrid nanomaterials based on semiconductor quantum dots and halide perovskites. By exploiting hierarchical self-assembly and exciton-photon interactions, we realized highly stable perovskite nanocrystals exhibiting efficient light harvesting, tunable emission, and robust circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). These studies established general design principles for simultaneously optimizing optical efficiency, structural stability, and chiroptical activity in next-generation optoelectronic materials.

Our recent research has further expanded into chiral plasmonics and spin photonics by integrating structural chirality with exciton–plasmon coupling and chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS). Hierarchical chiral nanoarchitectures enable cooperative interactions among photons, plasmons, excitons, and electron spins, leading to polarization-selective photochemistry, spin-dependent charge transport, and circularly polarized emission. This emerging framework provides new opportunities for spin-controlled photocatalysis, optoelectronic devices, quantum photonics, and sustainable energy technologies. Together, these advances establish a comprehensive materials design paradigm in which plasmonic enhancement, excitonic engineering, and spin-selective processes are integrated within a single hierarchical platform, opening new directions for multifunctional photonic materials and next-generation quantum-inspired nanotechnologies.

Info.:

Prof. Dong Ha Kim received Ph.D. degree in the Department of Fiber and Polymer Science at Seoul National University in 2000. He carried out postdoctoral researches in the Polymer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and in the Materials Science Department at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. Then, he joined the Samsung Electronics Co. in the Memory Division of Semiconductor R&D Center as a senior scientist. He assumed a faculty position in the Division of Nano Science (current, Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience) at Ewha Womans University in 2006, and currently is a Distinguished Professor. His research interests include development of hybrid nanostructures for optoelectronics, battery, catalysis, display, non-volatile memory, and theragnosis. He has authored 245 SCI publications, and holds 60 Korean and 2 US patents. Currently, he is Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry and Fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology. He serves as Associate Editor of Nanoscale/Nanoscale Advances and Opto-Electronic Advances, Editorial Board Member of Nano Research Energy and Advisory Board Member of Nanoscale Horizons, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, and Materials Advances.