Abstract
 

Single molecule spectroscopy has had a tremendous impact in every field where the technique was applied, ranging from catalysis over plasmonics, polymer physics, biophysics to cell biology and DNA sequencing. Furthermore, single molecule techniques have allowed researchers to push the boundaries of fluorescence microscopy past the diffraction limit. In this presentation I will give an overview of recent single molecule experiments in our laboratory in a material science context. Recent progress in instrumentation, catalysis research, molecular motors and plasmonics will be discussed.