Polaritonic Chemistry
Light-matter strong coupling and the formation of hybrid light-matter states has been extensively studied in quantum optics and condensed matter physics, but its consequences for molecular science is just beginning to be explored. Our group activities are mainly focused on understanding the chemical and physical properties of such newly formed light-matter hybrid states.
Latest News
_edited_edited.png)
Polaritronics-prespective in JCP 2025
Polaritronics is a new branch of research that involves the study of polaritonic states and their applications in optoelectronic devices. Polaritonic states are distinguished by the inheritance of light and matter properties together. The cavity quantum electrodynamics picture of a two-level system interacting with a photon can define these states. Here, polaritonic devices perform classical operations through the collective interactions of an Avogadro number of molecules. By doing so, the newly formed states inherit a low effective mass and, therefore, behave similar to lightweight carriers of charge. At the same time, it possesses a collective coherence length as large as the mode volume of the cavity. This allows us to engineer hybrid devices that are specific in functions with quantization in both energy and momentum. This perspective gives glimpses of our views on polaritronics and its applications in quantum sensing …
Polaritonic Chemistry-perspective in Chem Comm
Recent experiments suggest that precise control of chemical reactions can now be achieved by strong light-matter coupling. This fueled a huge interest among researchers to use it as a spectroscopic tool to understand complex chemical relaxation pathways. In this review, we show the potential of polaritonic chemistry that can be used as a selective tool without using any external stimuli. Polariton-driven reactions are proposed based on photoswitches, all the way up to simple ester hydrolysis, that are otherwise mediated by light or thermal sources. We also discuss the cooperativity and collective nature of strong coupling that can tailor reaction rates by inter-/intramolecular interactions. Further, we explain the pros and cons of this concept, its potential to be explored in different domains, and the challenges upfront…
Kaur K, Dutta J, George J. Polaritronics: Energy and electron transport through polaritonic states. The Journal of Chemical Physics. 2025, 163(5). (https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0258786)
Singh J, Garg P, Lather J, George J. Stirring chemical reaction landscapes through strong light–matter interactions. Chemical Communications. 2025, 61(93):18289-301. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D5CC04712A)
Our Latest Research
Dutta J, Yadav N, Johns B, George J. Excitation and Momentum Resolved Multi-Polaritonic Emission Mapping in Organic-Inorganic Microcavity. Adv Opt Mater. 2025, e02324. (https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202502324)
Johns B, Yadav N, Vinod A, Kaur K, George J. Understanding the Nature of Polariton-Like Emission in 2D Materials Coupled to Open Optical Cavities. Adv Opt Mater.2025, e02143. (https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202502143)
Yadav N, Johns B, Banerjee K, Kaur K, Dutta J, George J. Vacuum Engineering of Light–Matter Interaction in Open Optical Cavities. ACS Applied Optical Materials. 2025. (https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaom.5c00330)
Garg P, Singh J, Gaur AK, Venkataramani S, Schäfer C, George J. Unveiling the role of dark states in dynamic control of azopyrrole photoisomerization by light-matter interaction. Communications Chemistry (Nature portfolio). 2025, 8(1):192. (https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-025-01588-x)
Singh, J.; Garg, P.; Vijaya Anand, R.; George J., Cavity Catalysis of an Enantioselective Reaction under Vibrational Strong Coupling. Chemistry – A European Journal 2024, e202400607.(https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202400607)
Dutta J, Yadav N, Bhatt P, Kaur K, Gómez D. E., George J. Enhanced Energy Transfer in Cavity QED Based Phototransistors. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. 2024, 8211-7. (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c01511)
