Collective Strong Coupling Modifies Aggregation and Solvation

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry letters Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 1428 - 1434
• Main Authors: Castagnola, Matteo, Haugland, Tor S., Ronca, Enrico, Koch, Henrik, Schäfer, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 08-02-2024
• Subjects: Letter; Physical Insights into Light Interacting with Matter
• ISSN: 1948-7185; 1948-7185
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03506

Intermolecular (Coulombic) interactions are pivotal for aggregation, solvation, and crystallization. We demonstrate that the collective strong coupling of several molecules to a single optical mode results in notable changes in the molecular excitations around a single perturbed molecule, thus representing an impurity in an otherwise ordered system. A competition between short-range coulombic and long-range photonic correlations inverts the local transition density in a polaritonic state, suggesting notable changes in the polarizability of the solvation shell. Our results provide an alternative perspective on recent work in polaritonic chemistry and pave the way for the rigorous treatment of cooperative effects in aggregation, solvation, and crystallization.