Optical Super-Resolution Imaging of Surface Reactions

Abstract

Optical super-resolution imaging has gained momentum in investigations of heterogeneous and homogeneous chemical reactions at the single-molecule level. Thanks to its exceptional spatial resolution and ability to monitor dynamic systems, much detailed information on single-molecule reaction/adsorption processes and single-particle catalytic processes has been revealed, including chemical kinetics and reaction dynamics; active-site distributions on single-particle surfaces; and size-, shape-, and facet-dependent catalytic activities of individual nanocatalysts. In this review, we provide an overview of recent advances in super-resolution chemical imaging of surface reactions.