Molecular Chemistry in Cavity Strong Coupling

The coherent exchange of energy betweenmaterials andoptical fieldsleads to strong light-matter interactions and so-called polaritonicstates with intriguing properties, halfway between light and matter.Two decades ago, research on these strong light-matter interactions,using optical cavity (vacuum) fields, remained for the most part theprovince of the physicist, with a focus on inorganic materials requiringcryogenic temperatures and carefully fabricated, high-quality opticalcavities for their study. This review explores the history and recentacceleration of interest in the application of polaritonic statesto molecular properties and processes. The enormous collective oscillatorstrength of dense films of organic molecules, aggregates, and materialsallows cavity vacuum field strong coupling to be achieved at roomtemperature, even in rapidly fabricated, highly lossy metallic opticalcavities. This has put polaritonic states and their associated coherentphenomena at the fingertips of laboratory chemists, materials scientists,and even biochemists as a potentially new tool to control molecularchemistry. The exciting phenomena that have emerged suggest that polaritonicstates are of genuine relevance within the molecular and materialenergy landscape.

Automated summary

The exchange of energy between materials and optical fields results in strong light-matter interactions and the formation of polaritonic states with unique properties. Initially studied mostly by physicists using inorganic materials and cryogenic temperatures, recent research has shown that polaritonic states can be achieved at room temperature even in rapidly fabricated metallic optical cavities, making them accessible to chemists, materials scientists, and biochemists. The emergence of exciting phenomena suggests that polaritonic states have genuine relevance in molecular and material energy landscapes.