Measuring and inducing electrostatic effects

Electrostatic effects are a major factor that drive and tune molecular processes in
chemistry and biology. Examples include solvent dependence in chemical reactivity,
the electric double layer at (bio)interfaces, or, most notably, the “mechanism“ of
electrostatic catalysis that contributes to the acceleration of chemical reactions by up
to 1018 times in enzyme active sites. In this talk, I will present how we develop and
utilize advanced infrared (IR) spectroscopic approaches to quantify relevant
electrostatic forces in condensed matter as well as to apply electrostatic perturbations
to monitor the consequences on molecular processes. On the one hand, we explore
the vibrational Stark effect (VSE), which utilizes the electric field-sensitivity of C=O or
C≡N vibrations to measure electric fields at the single bond level. On the other hand,
we develop surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopic
approaches, which are based on a plasmonic Au surface.