Polaritons are a peculiar state, a kind of quasi-particles consisting of part-light and part-matter that can bring unexpected abilities to conventional chemical reactions. New research from Umeå University and others reveals that when the polaritons are hit by very short pulses of light they collapse, and from then the reaction will be completely controlled by conventional electronic transitions. The study is published in Nature Communications.
Matter exists in various forms, like solid or a liquid. But it can also take very unexpected forms, as for instance, when light and matter meet in a very confined space. Confining a few molecules of matter is easy, but for catching light special devices are needed, such as small nano-antennas, a bit similar to how TV-antennas of the past captured a TV-signal. But much smaller.
"Since we can produce large surfaces, covered with these antennas and, in principle, aimed at very practical future scaled-up applications of polaritonic chemistry, we are very intrigued by the fast processes that happen when these novel reactions take place on the antennas. This is important when we design the future useful and energy-efficient systems working with light and matter," says Professor Alexandre Dmitriev, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
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