Polaritonic Chemistry Enabled by Non‐Local Metasurfaces
Francesco Verdelli, Yu‐Chen Wei, Kripa Joseph, Mohamed S. Abdelkhalik, Masoumeh Goudarzi, Sven H. C. Askes, Andrea Baldi, E. W. Meijer, Jaime Gómez Rivas
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.