Abstract
The second law of photochemistry states that, in most cases, no more than one molecule is activated for an excited-state reaction for each photon absorbed by a collection of molecules. In this Letter, we demonstrate that it is possible to trigger a many-molecule reaction using only one photon by strongly coupling the molecular ensemble to a confined light mode. The collective nature of the resulting hybrid states of the system (the so-called polaritons) leads to the formation of a polaritonic “supermolecule” involving the degrees of freedom of all molecules, opening a reaction path on which all involved molecules undergo a chemical transformation. We theoretically investigate the system conditions for this effect to take place and be enhanced.
- Received 18 May 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.136001
© 2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Viewpoint
Inducing Multiple Reactions with a Single Photon
Published 27 September 2017
Using an optical cavity to couple several molecules can potentially set up a chemical chain reaction that requires just one photon to initiate.
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