About

Professor Peter J. A. Nordlander is the Principal Investigator of the Nordlander Nanophotonics Group at Rice University. His research focuses on condensed matter theory, electronic and optical properties of nanoparticles, electron transfer and transport in nanostructures, nanooptics, nanophotonics, and plasmonics. He leads a team that investigates fundamental physical phenomena in nanoscale systems, particularly those involving plasmonic effects and their applications in nanophotonics. Professor Nordlander's work encompasses theoretical and computational studies aimed at understanding and manipulating light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, contributing to advancements in the fields of nanooptics and plasmonics.

Research topics

• Optoelectronics
• Materials science
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical engineering
• Photochemistry
• Atomic physics
• Optics
• Environmental science
• Engineering
• Chemical physics
• Environmental engineering
• Molecular physics
• Chromatography
• Nuclear engineering
• Inorganic chemistry
• Composite material
• Electrical engineering
• Organic chemistry
• Thermodynamics

Selected publications

• Optimizing Plasmonic Photocatalysis by Controlling the Temporal Distribution of Incident Photons

  ACS Catalysis · 2026-04-24

  articleCorresponding

  Of central interest in plasmonic photocatalysis is efficiency, defined as the ratio of the rate of chemical transformation to the power of the incident light. Efforts to enhance efficiency have focused largely on optimizing the photocatalyst structure and composition, reaction conditions, and reactor design. Here, we show that the temporal distribution of incident photons is another parameter that can be used to optimize efficiency. We illustrate the concept by varying the repetition rate of incident laser light pulses. By increasing the repetition rate from 13 to 78 MHz while keeping both the total photon flux and temperature constant, we observe a 7-fold increase in external quantum efficiency for ammonia decomposition. An increase of up to 20-fold in the reaction rate per pulse for pulses of identical energy but shorter time delay between pulses is also observed, revealing nonlinearities in the photocatalytic process. Our findings broaden the approaches for light delivery in photocatalysis, offering insight into how photocatalytic efficiency can be maximized for a fixed incident light energy and expanding current concepts for dynamic control in plasmon-driven chemistry.

  PublisherDOI

• Robust Strong Coupling of Monolayer WS ₂ in Plasmonic Nanocavities via Scattering and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy

  ACS Photonics · 2026-02-05

  articleCorresponding

  Strong coupling (SC) between plasmonic nanocavities and excitons in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDs) has promoted fundamental studies in quantum electrodynamics and applications in photonic quantum technologies. Although previous SC research with 2D-TMD predominantly characterized cavity polaritons through scattering spectroscopy, the observation of the complete anticrossing behavior in photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been less frequently reported and is crucial for ascertaining the underlying physics. In this study, we robustly demonstrate an unambiguous SC between a single gold-nanorod cavity and monolayer WS2 excitons. This was achieved by observing complete upper and lower polariton branch emissions via both scattering and PL spectroscopy. The sharp tips of the plasmonic nanocavity of the nanorods give rise to a large single exciton coupling strength up to 14.9 meV. We estimate that the number of excitons in the strongly coupled entangled state range from 8.7 to 17.3. Correlated scattering and PL spectra measurements on a single coupled system confirm the presence of strong plasmon-exciton interactions. Further theoretical simulations using a coupled-oscillator model show excellent agreement with the measured scattering and PL spectral data, effectively capturing the energy separation and intensity ratio of the polaritonic peaks. The high yield of SC structures achieved presents an opportunity to explore their nonlinear, electrical, and quantum correlation properties, which may be sufficient for practical quantum optoelectronic devices.

  PublisherDOI

• Combined Sustainable Water Purification and Remineralization Using an Off-Grid, Nanoparticle-Driven Solar Process

  ACS Sustainable Resource Management · 2025-08-28

  articleOpen access

  The increasing demand for potable water worldwide necessitates scalable and sustainable approaches to water purification. Here, we demonstrate a solar-driven water purification system that combines nanoparticle-assisted, membrane-free solar distillation with remineralization through a natural sedimentary rock-filled condensation column. The solar distillation is accomplished using carbon black nanoparticles (CBNPs), whose broadband light absorption properties significantly enhance the evaporation rate during distillation. This is paired with a condensation-remineralization column incorporating sedimentary rocks, which effectively replenishes essential minerals such as calcium and magnesium (required for sustainable human consumption) and re-establishes water alkalinity. It achieves a 99% reduction of dissolved ions and restores calcium concentration to levels comparable to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards while also achieving effective microbial decontamination. Combining distillation and remineralization in one simple, low-tech system is a strategy that addresses the urgent demand for sustainably safe drinking water needed in many resource-limited communities and locations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• In silico machine learning–enabled detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soil

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-05-08 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  The detection and identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their modified derivatives in contaminated soil is challenging due to the chemical and microbial complexity of soil organic matter. To address these challenges, we developed an innovative analytical approach that combines Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with a Raman spectral library constructed in silico using density functional theory (DFT)-calculated spectra. This method overcomes several limitations associated with traditional experimental libraries, including spectral background interference, solvent effects, and commercially unavailable or challenging to synthesize compounds. Our methodology employs a physics-informed machine learning pipeline that operates in two stages: the characteristic peak extraction (CaPE) algorithm, which isolates distinctive spectral features, and the characteristic peak similarity (CaPSim) algorithm, which identifies analytes with high robustness to spectral shifts and amplitude variations. Validation of this approach showed strong similarity values (>0.6) between DFT-calculated and experimental Surface-enhanced Raman spectra for multiple PAHs, confirming its accuracy and discriminative capability. This study establishes the viability of DFT-calculated spectra as reliable references for identifying analytes that lack experimental reference spectra, including those formed through environmental modification of PAHs. This advancement addresses a critical gap in environmental monitoring, providing a valuable tool for assessing public health risks associated with these contaminants.

  PublisherDOI

• Tuning the Reactivity of Al@TiO₂ Antenna–Reactor Plasmonic Photocatalysts by Controlling Oxygen Vacancies

  Nano Letters · 2025-08-25 · 4 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Oxygen vacancies on a metal oxide surface enhance its catalytic activity. Here we investigate the controlled introduction of oxygen vacancies on core–shell Al@TiO2 antenna–reactor nanoparticle photocatalysts. Thermal annealing in an H2-reducing atmosphere creates more oxygen vacancies in the surface TiO2 layer of Al@TiO2 nanoparticles compared to the same process under inert (He) or oxidative (O2) ambients. The photocatalytic reactivity enhancement was evaluated by investigating two reactions: hole-mediated methanol decomposition and electron-mediated hydrogen dissociation. The ability to modify plasmonic nanoparticle photocatalyst reactivity in this simple and controllable manner demonstrates the potential of this approach to tailor and enhance the performance of plasmonic antenna–reactor photocatalysts.

  PublisherDOI

• Optical and electrical probing of plasmonic metal-molecule interactions

  Science Advances · 2025-12-12 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Plasmonic nanostructures enable efficient light-to-chemical energy conversion by concentrating optical energy into nanoscale volumes. A key mechanism in this process is chemical interface damping (CID), where surface plasmons are damped by adsorbed molecules, enabling the transfer of charge to adsorbed molecules. Here, we investigate the relationship between CID and adsorbate-induced changes in dc electrical resistivity for four molecular adsorbates on gold surfaces. Our results reveal two distinct CID regimes. On one hand, CID takes place via direct resonant electronic transitions to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital. This mechanism is dependent on plasmon energy. In the second regime, plasmon damping takes place through inelastic electron scattering at the metal-molecule interface. This regime shows a weaker dependency on plasmon energy. This mechanism also leads to adsorbate-induced changes in dc resistivity. These findings provide previously unidentified insights into the microscopic origins of plasmon damping and offer a unified framework for understanding metal-adsorbate energy transfer.

  PublisherDOI

• <i>(Invited)</i> Light-Induced Nonlinearities Drive Plasmonic Photothermal Catalysis Under Pulsed Illumination

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2025-11-24

  articleSenior author

  Photocatalysis with plasmonic nanostructures has established itself as a transformative paradigm to drive chemical reactions using light. At the surface of metallic nanoparticles, photoexcitation results in strong near fields, short-lived high-energy ‘hot’ carriers, and light-induced heating. This creates a local environment where reactions occur along thermal and nonthermal pathways with enhanced efficiency, in significantly milder conditions compared to conventional catalysis. Despite exceptional promises, the typical nano-reactors operate under continuous wave illumination, which inherently restricts rates, selectivity, and efficiency of the reactions. The use of pulsed illumination has therefore emerged as an attractive solution, further bolstered by the proven advantages of solid-state lighting sources, such as LEDs, for exciting photocatalytic nanostructures. Optical pulses, featuring high peak intensities over timescales (sub-ps to ns) comparable to those of the reaction elementary step, can unlock nonlinear interactions which are out of reach in the steady-state, with the potential to modify substantially the reaction rates. In this framework, it is critical to understand the nonequilibrium processes triggered by light, both at the electronic and thermal level. In this talk, we will first introduce an original modeling approach to gauge with spatial, temporal, and energy resolution, the ultrafast energy exchange from plasmonic hot carriers to molecular systems adsorbed on the metal nanoparticle surface, while consistently accounting for photothermal bond activation. Our numerical analysis allows for disentangling the contributions arising from the carriers and the heated lattice, and it shows that rates can strongly benefit from pulsed illumination. We then combine modelling and photocatalytic measurements to explore the impact of pulsed illumination on a prototypical reaction (ammonia decomposition using CuRu antenna-reactors), by tuning the temporal distance and energy of the pulses. We report on a 20-fold increase in the reaction rate per pulse (energy efficiency and external quantum efficiency, normalised by the total number of pulses) upon doubling the pulse repetition rate in the 13 – 78 MHz range, for the same pulse peak intensity and photocatalyst steady-state temperature. To rationalise this remarkable trend, we develop a quantitative model for the transient photoinduced temperature increase, and propose a concurrent light-driven nonlinear mechanism modulating the effective activation energy of the reaction, to explain such a stark super-linear improvement in the rate of hydrogen production. Taken together, our results provide key elements to advance the use of ultrashort light pulses in photocatalysis, to drive chemical events with unprecedented efficiencies in the nonequilibrium regime, beyond the steady-state limits.

  PublisherDOI

• Spatially Controlled Growth of Ultrathin MoO₂ Polymorphs by Physical Vapor Deposition

  Nano Letters · 2025-02-03 · 10 citations

  article

  Here we study the controlled growth of ultrathin molybdenum dioxide (MoO2) flakes, a metallic analogue of the widely studied transition metal dichalcogenide MoS2. This study demonstrates the growth of three distinct MoO2 polymorphs (monoclinic, tetragonal, and a newly identified hexagonal phase) using physical vapor deposition. Comprehensive characterization through atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy confirms their unique structures and validates the newly observed hexagonal polymorph, which is also supported through simulations. Computational modeling suggests that the nucleation and coalescence of gas-phase clusters drive the polymorph formation. Optical measurements reveal that these polymorphs exhibit distinct photonic resonances, influenced by their geometry and thickness. This work opens new possibilities for integrating MoO2 in hybrid structures and photonic devices, leveraging its polymorphic diversity and close relation to MoS2, for advanced material design.

  PublisherDOI

• Ultrafast Energy Transfer Mechanisms in Nanophotonic Systems: Photocatalysis and Photothermal Cancer Therapy

  2025-01-01

  article

  This work investigates electromagnetic energy transfer mechanisms in nanophotonic systems, focusing on ultrafast plasmonic photocatalysis and optimized photothermal cancer therapy enabled by predictive modeling techniques. Key findings demonstrate how photothermal effects can be quantified and enhanced through tailored designs and time-dependent excitation.

  PublisherDOI

• The dynamics of plasmon-induced hot carrier creation in colloidal gold

  Nature Communications · 2025-03-06 · 20 citations

  articleOpen access

  The generation and dynamics of plasmon-induced hot carriers in gold nanoparticles offer crucial insights into nonequilibrium states for energy applications, yet the underlying mechanisms remain experimentally elusive. Here, we leverage ultrafast X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to directly capture hot carrier dynamics with sub-50 fs temporal resolution, providing clear evidence of plasmon decay mechanisms. We observe the sequential processes of Landau damping (~25 fs) and hot carrier thermalization (~1.5 ps), identifying hot carrier formation as a significant decay pathway. Energy distribution measurements reveal carriers in non-Fermi-Dirac states persisting beyond 500 fs and observe electron populations exceeding single-photon excitation energy, indicating the role of an Auger heating mechanism alongside traditional impact excitation. These findings deepen the understanding of hot carrier behavior under localized surface plasmon resonance, offering valuable implications for applications in photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and phototherapy. This work establishes a methodological framework for studying hot carrier dynamics, opening avenues for optimizing energy transfer processes in nanoscale plasmonic systems.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• MRI: Development of Nanoscale Probes for Enhanced Vibrational Spectroscopy

  NSF · $250k · 2004–2008

Frequent coauthors

• Naomi J. Halas

  Rice University

  330 shared

• Hongxing Xu

  Wuhan Institute of Technology

  76 shared

• Javier Aizpurua

  Donostia International Physics Center

  54 shared

• A. G. Borisov

  Université Paris-Saclay

  44 shared

• Stephan Link

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  43 shared

• Oara Neumann

  Rice University

  33 shared

• Alessandro Alabastri

  Rice University

  33 shared

• Yurui Fang

  Dalian University of Technology

  33 shared

Labs

• Nordlander Nanophotonics GroupPI

Awards & honors

• Charles Duncan Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement (1…
• Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics (2…
• Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids (2014)
• R.W. Wood Prize in Optics (2015)
• Hershel M. Rich Invention Award (2019)