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Kim Lab
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A lab that observes molecules one by one under a microscope to explore reactions and light at surfaces.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing, understanding, and controlling the reactions and functions of molecular interfaces
The Kim Lab studies how molecules attached to solid surfaces react and how they exchange light and energy.
Using a scanning tunneling microscope that can resolve individual atoms, the lab observes molecules one at a time. With single-molecule spectroscopy methods it has developed in-house, it measures the changes in state that accompany reactions and the absorption and emission of light.
This understanding is important for developing solid catalysts that drive reactions efficiently and molecular devices that emit light or convert light into electricity.
The lab conducts research together with the Surface and Interface Science Laboratory at RIKEN.
Key terms
- scanning tunneling microscope
- A microscope that brings a sharp tip extremely close to a surface and creates an image of the arrangement of atoms and molecules from the tiny current that flows
- quantum state
- One of the discrete energy states that electrons and vibrations can take within an atom or molecule
- self-assembly
- A phenomenon in which molecules spontaneously gather and form a regular structure on their own
NewsLab news
An undergraduate student and a master's student received Presentation Excellence Awards at the bachelor's and master's thesis presentations
A student received the Excellent Poster Presentation Award at the CSJ Chemistry Festa 2025
A student received the Student Excellent Presentation Award from the Physical Society of Japan
Press release on research using terahertz light to induce light emission from a single molecule
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to clarify in detail, at the nanoscale, how energy is transferred and converted at solid surfaces and interfaces. On well-ordered surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum, it combines scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy with theoretical calculations to investigate the underlying mechanisms at the level of individual molecules and atoms.
*Illustrative imageChemistry of Individual Molecules
On the surfaces of thin films of metals and metal oxides, the lab investigates the chemical reactions of individual molecules, using molecular vibrations and the quantum states of electrons as clues.
*Illustrative imageSelf-Assembling Organic Thin Films
The lab studies the fine structure and electronic properties of organic thin films formed when molecules spontaneously arrange themselves, with the aim of contributing to the development of functional devices based on molecules.
*Illustrative imageLight and Electrons in Single Molecules
The lab works on detecting light emitted from a single molecule, and on investigating at the atomic scale how energy is converted between electrons and light in nanomaterials.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kim Lab consist of faculty, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and secretarial staff.As of 2026
- Project ProfessorYousoo Kim
- Associate ProfessorEmiko KazumaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorMinhui LeePublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorHyungjun Park
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Co ellipse” Joseph A. Stroscio, Robert J. Celotta, Steven R. Blankenship, Frank M. Hess / Public domain (cropped)
- Chemistry of Individual Molecules: “Graphene-epitaxial” Nathan Guisinger, EMMD Group, Argonne National Laboratory / Public domain (cropped)
- Self-Assembling Organic Thin Films: “Selfassembly Organic Semiconductor Trixler LMU” Frank Trixler; adapted from LMU/CeNS: Organic Semiconductor Nanostructures / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Light and Electrons in Single Molecules: “OLED SUBPIXELS” TECH EDU / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Functional Coordination Chemistry Lab (Ishii Lab)): “Phthalocyanine-3D-balls” Jynto (talk) / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Fujioka Lab): “Blue light emitting diodes over a proto-board” Gussisaurio / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tatsuma Lab): “Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn Goldrubingefässe Ehrenfeld 01” Geolina163 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yanagida Lab): “Zinc Nanowires ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
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