Harnessing Infrared Heat: Revolutionizing Chemical Reaction Dynamics

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In a collaborative experimental-theoretical effort, a group of investigators, including theorists from UC San Diego, have demonstrated for the first time that heat transfer via infrared radiation can affect chemical reactions more profoundly than conventional methods like convection and conduction.

By utilizing an optical cavity to contain infrared light waves, the researchers concentrated on the thermal dehydration of an inorganic crystal, copper sulfate pentahydrate. They discovered that light-matter vibrational coupling (leading to states referred to as polaritons) reduced the temperature necessary for dehydration by as much as 14 degrees Celsius. This phenomenon was linked to radiative energy transport, in which heat energy radiates outward as photons from a heated area are absorbed by a colder area (the crystal) — a method of heat conduction that had been previously overlooked.

This research establishes a mechanism for altering thermochemical processes through optical cavities, bearing implications for the advancement of catalytic systems that leverage these interactions for precise control over specific chemical reactions and optoelectronic processes.

This investigation was published on January 16, 2025, in Nature Chemistry. The research team consists of Sindhana Pannir-Sivajothi, Yong Rui Poh & Joel Yuen-Zhou (all from UC San Diego); Zachary Brawley (Texas A&M); and Matthew Sheldon and Ju Eun Yim (both from UC Irvine). 

Their study received funding from the National Science Foundation (CHE-2108288), the Welch Foundation (A-1886), the W.M. Keck Foundation, and the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF 60968-ND6).

Read the publication in Nature Chemistry: Vibrational weak and strong coupling modify a chemical reaction via cavity-mediated radiative energy transfer.