Lately, my personal research obsession has been all about plasmons. Part of it is because I have a paper coming out soon on this very topic, but beyond that, I strongly believe plasmonics is a field worth pursuing—both in terms of current trends and in terms of the deeper academic trajectory. And among plasmonic systems, nanocrystals in particular are poised to take center stage, which honestly makes me quietly thrilled.
Plasmons are the phenomena that emerge when metals like silver or gold are reduced to the nanoscale, where light couples strongly with the collective motion of electrons. It’s one of those classic introductions in nanoscience: when you shrink gold to the nanoscale, it turns a wine-red color; silver turns orange. This has been studied for decades, but what excites me now is the next level—when plasmonic nanoparticles come close to one another and begin to interact. They can form new hybrid bands and exhibit bizarre, collective interactions. This is often described as deep strong coupling, a regime where the boundary between light and matter effectively disappears. Such states are even being explored as potential platforms for future quantum computing.
Nanocrystals are particularly powerful for accessing this regime, and plasmons have the unique advantage of operating even at room temperature, unlike many other quantum materials. The specific mechanisms for quantum computing applications are still developing, but for now it’s enough to recognize how radically forward-looking this field is.
For someone like me, with a background in self-assembly, this feels like a genuine turning point: a case where the beautiful but often “aesthetic-only” nanocrystal superstructures might actually become socially and technologically transformative. It’s the kind of breakthrough point I’ve been waiting for. The prospect that carefully organized nanocrystal architectures could not only look elegant but also enable real functionality is deeply exciting.
So from here on, I plan to engage much more actively with plasmon- and nanocrystal-related research. I see it as one of the most promising frontiers—and perhaps even a business opportunity. If anyone out there is interested in joining forces, I would love to connect.
