Driving chemical reactions with polariton condensates

TL;DR

This paper explores how vibrational polariton condensation can significantly influence chemical reaction kinetics by providing new energy channels and reducing activation barriers, potentially enabling control over chemical processes.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework showing how vibrational polariton condensation can alter reaction pathways and yields, offering a novel method to control chemistry.

Findings

Condensates change reaction yields significantly.

Additional energy channels reduce activation barriers.

Energy redistribution during reactions is enhanced.

Abstract

When molecular transitions strongly couple to photon modes, they form hybrid light-matter modes called polaritons. Collective vibrational strong coupling is a promising avenue for control of chemistry, but this can be deterred by the large number of quasi-degenerate dark modes. The macroscopic occupation of a single polariton mode by excitations, as observed in Bose-Einstein condensation, offers promise for overcoming this issue. Here we theoretically investigate the effect of vibrational polariton condensation on the kinetics of electron transfer processes. Compared with excitation with infrared laser sources, the condensate changes the reaction yield significantly due to additional channels with reduced activation barriers resulting from the large accumulation of energy in the lower polariton, and the many modes available for energy redistribution during the reaction. Our results offer tantalizing opportunities to use condensates for driving chemical reactions, kinetically bypassing usual constraints of fast intramolecular vibrational redistribution in condensed phase.