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arXiv · 2402.15296

Polaritonic Chemistry Enabled by Non-Local Metasurfaces

Abstract

Vibrational strong coupling can modify chemical reaction pathways in unconventional ways. Thus far, Fabry-Perot cavities formed by pairs of facing mirrors have been mostly utilized to achieve vibrational strong coupling. In this study, we demonstrate the application of plasmonic microparticle arrays defining non-local metasurfaces that can sustain surface lattice resonances as a novel tool to enable chemical reactions under vibrational strong coupling. We show that the solvolysis kinetics of \textit{para}-nitrophenyl acetate can be accelerated by a factor of 2.7 by strong coupling to the carbonyl bond of the solvent and the solute with a surface lattice resonance. Our work introduces a new platform to investigate and control polaritonic chemical reactions. In contrast to Fabry-Perot cavities, metasurfaces define open optical cavities with single surfaces, which removes alignment hurdles, facilitating polaritonic chemistry across large areas.

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Francesco Verdelli, Yu-Chen Wei, Kripa Joseph, Mohamed S. Abdelkhalik, Goudarzi Masoumeh, Sven H. C. Askes, Andrea Baldi, E. W. Meijer, Jaime Gómez Rivas. 2024-02-23. Polaritonic Chemistry Enabled by Non-Local Metasurfaces. https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.15296

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