Extraordinary Electrical Conductance through Amorphous Nonconducting Polymers under Vibrational Strong Coupling.

Enhancing the electrical conductance through amorphous nondoped polymers is challenging. Here, we show that vibrational strong coupling (VSC) of intrinsically nonconducting and amorphous polymers such as polystyrene, deuterated polystyrene, and poly(benzyl methacrylate) to the vacuum electromagnetic field of the cavity enhances the electrical conductivity by at least 6 orders of magnitude compared to the uncoupled polymers. Remarkably, the observed extraordinary conductance is vibrational mode selective and occurs only under the VSC of the aromatic C-H(D) out-of-plane bending modes of the polymers.

Plasmonic Resonant Nanoantennas Induce Changes in the Shape and the Intensity of Infrared Spectra of Phospholipids.

Surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopic studies (SEIRAS) as a technique to study biological molecules in extremely low concentrations is greatly evolving. In order to use the technique for identification of the structure and interactions of such biological molecules, it is necessary to identify the effects of the plasmonic electric-field enhancement on the spectral signature. In this study the spectral properties of 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3 phosphothioethanol (DPPTE) phospholipid immobilized on gold nanoantennas, specifically designed to enhance the vibrational fingerprints of lipid molecules were studied.

Modifying Woodward-Hoffmann Stereoselectivity Under Vibrational Strong Coupling.

Vibrational strong coupling (VSC) has recently been shown to change the rate and chemoselectivity of ground-state chemical reactions via the formation of light-matter hybrid polaritonic states. However, the observation that vibrational-mode symmetry has a large influence on charge-transfer reactions under VSC suggests that symmetry considerations could be used to control other types of chemical selectivity through VSC. Here, we show that VSC influences the stereoselectivity of the thermal electrocyclic ring opening of a cyclobutene derivative, a reaction which follows the Woodward-Hoffmann rules.

On the Role of Symmetry in Vibrational Strong Coupling: The Case of Charge-Transfer Complexation.

It is well known that symmetry plays a key role in chemical reactivity. Here we explore its role in vibrational strong coupling (VSC) for a charge-transfer (CT) complexation reaction. By studying the trimethylated-benzene-I CT complex, we find that VSC induces large changes in the equilibrium constant K of the CT complex, reflecting modifications in the ΔG° value of the reaction.

Modification of Enzyme Activity by Vibrational Strong Coupling of Water.

Vibrational strong coupling (VSC) has recently emerged as a completely new tool for influencing chemical reactivity. It harnesses electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations through the creation of hybrid states of light and matter, called polaritonic states, in an optical cavity resonant to a molecular absorption band. Here, we investigate the effect of vibrational strong coupling of water on the enzymatic activity of pepsin, where a water molecule is directly involved in the enzyme's chemical mechanism.

Quantum Strong Coupling with Protein Vibrational Modes.

In quantum electrodynamics, matter can be hybridized to confined optical fields by a process known as light-matter strong coupling. This gives rise to new hybrid light-matter states and energy levels in the coupled material, leading to modified physical and chemical properties. Here, we report for the first time the strong coupling of vibrational modes of proteins with the vacuum field of a Fabry-Perot mid-infrared cavity.

Shear-stress-induced conformational changes of von Willebrand factor in a water-glycerol mixture observed with single molecule microscopy.

The von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a human plasma protein that plays a key role in the initiation of the formation of thrombi under high shear stress in both normal and pathological situations. It is believed that VWF undergoes a conformational transition from a compacted, globular to an extended form at high shear stress. In this paper, we develop and employ an approach to visualize the large-scale conformation of VWF in a (pressure-driven) Poiseuille flow of water-glycerol buffers with wide-field single molecule fluorescence microscopy as a function of shear stress.