In this article we present an overview of our recent research in the fields of in situ spectroscopy, nanomaterials and chirality. Our research focuses around the spectroscopic investigation of chemical reactions taking place at solid-liquid interfaces. This research goesh and in hand with the development of experimental techniques that enable us to study interface phenomena in situ. Using such techniques we try to shed light on photocatalytic reactions like the decomposition of organic pollutants in water or the reduction of carbon dioxide. We are moreover interested in chiral surfaces and their ability to discriminate betweenen antiomers. Again this relies on special techniques that highlight the enantiodiscriminating surface-adsorbate interactions. We further more seek to transfer chirality from adsorbates to metal nanoparticles. The latter are probed by chiroptical techniques, particularly also vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). Finally, we aim at preparing metamaterials with tailored optical properties by organizing plasmonic particles in two and three dimensions.