NW Missouri Times

An international research team, including Dr. Himadri Chakraborty from Northwest Missouri State University, has published new findings on fullerenes in the journal Science Advances. The paper details the time-span of electron dynamics in sub-nanometer particles.

Dr. Chakraborty explained, “In nanometer size matters, a plasmon is a highly collective, highly correlated electron motion – a party, which results in extreme energy confinement.” He emphasized the significance of understanding the lifetime of the plasmon state to enhance applications in fields like photovoltaics and molecular electronics.

The study was led by Dr. Chakraborty and Dr. Maia Magrakvelidze and involved collaborations with labs in Germany, Italy, and Stanford University. The team used attosecond laser-spectroscopy to examine Buckminsterfullerene (C60) plasmon dynamics. This technique allowed them to measure how long an electron takes to escape during plasmonic excitation.

“The delay is the time of the electron’s participation in the plasmonic dance before leaving the party,” Chakraborty said.

Their research revealed that electrons accumulate a photoemission delay between 50 and 300 attoseconds based on kinetic energy. These findings highlight electronic correlations' growing importance as system sizes decrease to sub-nanometer scales.

Dr. Chakraborty has received several National Science Foundation grants for his work on carbon fullerene molecules. His research has been published widely and involves undergraduate students who have advanced into graduate studies.

“The computational aspects enrich nanoscience and computational physics teaching courses directly,” said Chakraborty regarding his educational contributions.

For more information about Dr. Chakraborty's research efforts, further details can be accessed online.