Discourse Series | Light illuminates innovation in medicine and climate solutions
Watch the recording of this lecture by Professor Naomi J Halas with respondent Brian Norton MRIA, originally recorded in the Royal Irish Academy on 16 November 2023.
Professor Halas’ lecture revealed how metallic nanoparticles, used since antiquity to impart intense, vibrant color into materials, have more recently become a central tool in the nanoscale manipulation of light – we know them as the thin red lines in COVID tests. When illuminated by light, these metallic nanoparticles undergo coherent oscillations of their conduction electrons, responsible for their strong light-matter interactions and properties. The strong photothermal (the production of heat by light) properties that result from illumination, are unique properties of this family of nanoparticles that can be exploited in transformative applications. The photothermal properties of gold-based nanoparticles now provide the foundation for an ultralocalised cancer therapy that is successfully removing tumors within the prostate.
More recently we have begun to question whether the same, or similar properties can also be realised in more sustainable materials. Aluminum, the most abundant metal on our planet, can be synthesised, supporting high-quality plasmonic properties spanning the UV-to-IR region of the spectrum. Aluminum can also be used as an optical antenna, providing a new type of light-based catalyst that is being utilised for consuming greenhouse gases and rapidly advancing the Hydrogen economy.
Our Speakers
Naomi J. Halas is a University Professor and the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University and Director of the Smalley-Curl Institute. She received her undergraduate degree from La Salle University in 1980, and her PhD from Bryn Mawr College in 1987. She is best known for showing that the shape of noble metal nanoparticles controls their optical properties and was the first person to introduce structural control into the synthesis of coinage metal nanoparticles to control their optical resonances, which are due to collective electron oscillations known as plasmons. Professor Halas is the author of more than 350 refereed publications, has more than 25 issued patents, and has presented more than 600 invited talks. She is also co-founder of Nanospectra Biosciences, co-founder of Syzygy Plasmonics, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).
Brian Norton MRIA is Head of Energy Research at Tyndall National Institute.