Polaritonic Chemistry Enabled by Non-Local Metasurfaces
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Updated: Jun 16, 2025

Demonstration of Equal-Intensity Beam Generation by Dielectric Metasurfaces
Published on: June 7, 2019
Francesco Verdelli1, Yu-Chen Wei2, Kripa Joseph3
1Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, 5600HH, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
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 non-local metasurfaces that can sustain surface lattice resonances, enabling chemical reactions under vibrational strong coupling. We show that the solvolysis kinetics of 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 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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