Park majored in physics[6] at
Seoul National University, where he received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in 1993, 1995, and 1999, respectively.
Career
Park became a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Physics of
University of Maryland, College Park.[7] In 2002, he worked as a physicist postdoctoral fellow in the Materials Sciences Division of the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory[8] and then as a staff scientist from 2006. Returning to Korea, he taught and conducted research at
KAIST as an associate professor in the Graduate School of EEWS in 2009 before becoming a full professor in the Department of Chemistry in 2017. While researching at KAIST, he joined the
Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Nanomaterials and Chemical Reaction[9] as a group leader in 2013 and then became associate director in 2016. A collaboration between KAIST's Department of Chemistry and IBS, Park conducts research at Surface science and Catalysis with Atomic Level Engineering Laboratory, also known as SCALE Lab.
Research goals are to discover fundamental principles behind the formation of nanostructures to allow synthesis. Materials include single crystals, oxide–metal interfaces, nanoparticles, and solid–liquid interfaces.[11]
Nanocatalysis
As the size, shape, and composition of nanoparticles affects catalytic activity, the lab synthesizesg multi-functional nanoparticles of different sizes, including yolk–shell, core–shell, and hybrid nanocatalysts with various surface-sensitive techniques.[12]
Hot electron
Electronic excitation created during molecular or atomic processes at the surface has been utilized to demonstrate analogous photocurrent process and potential application in solar energy conversion technologies. The lab has worked on ways to improve the conversion efficiency.[13]
Scanning probe microscopy
Reaction intermediates and surface mobility under catalytic reaction conditions is detectable using surface science techniques. Atomic force microscopy has permitted the investigation of nanomechanical, structural properties, and charge transport.[14]
Park, Jeong Young; Baker, L. Robert;
Somorjai, Gábor A. (22 April 2015). "Role of hot electrons and metal–oxide interfaces in surface chemistry and catalytic reactions". Chemical Reviews. 115 (8): 2781–2817.
doi:
10.1021/cr400311p.
PMID25791926.
Joo, Sang Hoon; Park, Jeong Young; Tsung, Chia-Kuang; Yamada, Yusuke; Yang, Peidong;
Somorjai, Gábor A. (23 November 2008). "Thermally stable Pt/mesoporous silica core–shell nanocatalysts for high-temperature reactions". Nature Materials. 8 (2): 126–131.
doi:
10.1038/nmat2329.
PMID19029893.
S2CID3091948.
Somorjai, Gábor A.; Park, Jeong Young (17 November 2008). "Molecular factors of catalytic selectivity". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 47 (48): 9212–9228.
doi:
10.1002/anie.200803181.
OSTI952862.
PMID19006127.