General Colloquium Series

Noble metals possess extraordinary optical properties that allow light to be confined to volumes approaching the molecular scale. This extreme localisation of optical energy opens powerful opportunities to design materials that convert light directly into chemical work. However, because these processes unfold over nanometre length scales and ultrafast timescales, new experimental strategies are required to understand how energy is redistributed and how plasmonic systems can be optimised for nanoscale energy utilisation and other forms of light-driven functionality.

In this talk, I will discuss emerging approaches that reveal how optically generated charge carriers are extracted from self‑assembled plasmonic nanomaterials, and how this extraction depends on excitation wavelength and chemical functionalisation. I will also show that single‑molecule measurements allow us to observe molecular behaviour directly at metal interfaces, providing insight into the mechanisms governing plasmon–molecule interactions. Finally, I will explore how the extreme light–matter coupling achievable in such plasmonic architectures opens up a door towards single molecule quantum information processing.