Regensburg 2016 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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PV: Plenarvorträge

PV I

PV I: Plenarvortrag

Montag, 7. März 2016, 08:30–09:15, H1

Merging light with nanoparticles: artificial molecules, photocatalysis, cancer therapy, and solar steam — •Naomi J. Halas — ECE Department, Rice University, Houston, USA

Metallic nanoparticles, used since antiquity to impart intense and vibrant color into materials, have more recently become a central tool in the nanoscale manipulation of light. This interest has led to a virtual explosion of new types of metal-based nanoparticles and nanostructures of various shapes and compositions, and has given rise to new strategies to harvest, control, and manipulate light based on metallic nanostructures and their properties. As one begins to assemble metallic nanoparticles into useful building blocks, a striking parallel between the plasmons- the collective electronic oscillations- of these structures and wave functions of simple quantum systems is universally observed. Plasmon hybridization, the electromagnetic analog of molecular orbital theory, enables us to envision these structures as ``artificial molecules''. These nanoscale principles apply as we move from noble metals to more sustainable materials, such as Aluminum or carbon, that also support plasmon resonances. The inherently large optical absorption and scattering cross sections of these materials enable strong light-matter interactions and new functionalities: hot electron generation for photo-activated processes, and strong photothermal effects that can be used successfully for cancer therapy. Just as the principles of optics span a universe of applications, we find that the same photothermal effects responsible for nanoparticle-based cancer therapy can also be exploited for generating steam without the need to boil water. This effect provides a direct method for harnessing sunlight to drive physicochemical processes, such as distillation, without the need for conventional power sources.