The central questions explored in the Van Duyne group research lie in the area of nanoparticle optics. Most of our studies focus on exploiting the tunability of the localized surface plasmon resonance to act as signal transduction mechanisms for the sensing of molecular binding and understanding of surface chemistry.

We apply localized surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, resonant Rayleigh scattering, electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy to solve problems in electrochemistry, surface science, materials chemistry, and biochemistry.  See Professor Van Duyne's departmental page or our powerpoint overview for more detailed discussions.