In this talk, I focused on two types of nanomaterials: one is activated carbons and the other is transition metal dichalcogenides. In the first type, palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) immobilized on a garlic skin-derived activated carbons (GACs) was synthesized. The morphology, structure, surface compositions, and textural properties of the GACs and Pd@GAC catalyst were examined by a variety of physicochemical characterization techniques which revealed a dispersion of Pd NPs with average particle size of ca. 21 nm on sheet-like graphitized GACs. The Pd@GAC catalyst, which can be facilely prepared with biowaste feedstocks, exhibited excellent catalytic performances for efficient reduction of Cr(VI) with extraordinary stability and recyclability over at least five repeated catalytic test cycles. On the other hand, we report the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic application of ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru NPs) supported on plastic-derived carbons (PDCs) synthesized from plastic wastes (soft drink bottles) as an alternative carbon source. The catalytic activity of Ru@PDC for the reduction of potassium hexacyanoferrate(III), (K3[Fe(CN)6]), and new fuchsin (NF) dye by NaBH4 was performed under mild conditions. 

In the second type of nanomaterials, we present ultra-sensitive sensing of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is used as a biomarker to detect prostate cancer, using a molybdenum series (MoO3, MoS2, and MoSe2) of two-dimensional nanosheets (2D NSs). The design of a 2D NS-based PSA aptamer sensor system was demonstrated based on a fluorescence turn-on mechanism in the presence of a target. The detection limit of PSA was achieved to be 13 pM for MoO3 NSs, whereas the MoS2 and MoSe2 systems exhibited a detection limit of 72 and 157 pM, respectively. The in vitro bioimaging measurements were also performed using confocal fluorescence microscopy. Herein, PSA detection was successfully demonstrated in human embryonic kidney 293T (HEK) live cells. Moreover, the MoO3, MoS2, and MoSe2 NSs exhibit excellent biocompatibility and low toxicity; thus, these 2D NSs can be used as a promising sensor platform to detect prostate cancer. More chemical and bio-sensing applications will be reported based on the nanomaterial of transition metal dichalcogenides.

King-Chuen Lin is a Distinguished Professor of the Department of Chemistry at National Taiwan University and a Distinguished Research Fellow of National Science Council, Taiwan. He received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from National Taiwan University, Taiwan, his PhD in Chemistry from Michigan State University, USA, and his postdoctoral career at Cornell University. His research interests are photodissociation and reaction dynamics in gas and condensed phases, atmospheric chemistry, materials designed for sensors and catalysts, and single molecule spectroscopy. He received Academic Award of Ministry of Education, Taiwan, in 2014, and 2018 Richard B. Bernstein Award in Stereodynamics (Sep. Switzerland) and serves as an Associate Editor for J. Chin. Chem. Soc.(Taipei) and a member of Editorial Board for Scientific Reports (Nature publisher), Journal of Analytical and Bioanalytical Techniques (Gavin Publishers), and J. of Modern Chemical Sciences (Herald Scholarly Open Access). He has published more than 193 peer-reviewed papers and edited one book on reaction dynamics and chemical kinetics.