Detall

Conferenciant: Gianfranco Pacchioni, Università Milano-Bicocca, Milano (Italy).

Resum: I will trace the history of 40 years of research in cluster chemistry from my personal point of view recalling experiences and anecdotes in my numerous stays in Berlin, Munich, and at IBM in California. I will describe how my research activity began in the early 1980s with studies on the electronic structure of Li clusters in the gas phase. Since then, research on the chemistry and physics of clusters has made enormous progress, thanks to the development of new experimental techniques, advanced theoretical methods and a continuous growth in computing power. The structure and properties of bare clusters, ligand-stabilized organometallic clusters, and supported nanoparticles were elucidated with the ultimate goal of creating strong links between cluster science, surface chemistry, and heterogeneous catalysis. This has led to a better understanding of catalysis using supported nanoparticles down to individual atoms and the possibility of designing new nanostructured catalysts (including single atom catalysts) with desired properties. The presentation will conclude with some considerations on how the way of doing science has changed from when I started to today.