Naomi J. Halas
ABSRACT
Metallic nanoparticles, used since antiquity to impart intense, vibrant color into materials, then brought to scientific attention in the 19th century as “Faraday’s colloid”, have more recently become a central tool in the nanoscale manipulation of light. When excited by light, metallic nanoparticles undergo a coherent oscillation of their conduction electrons- known as a plasmon- which is responsible for their strong light-matter interactions and properties. While the scientific foundation of this field has been built on noble and coinage metals (most typically gold or silver), more recently we have begun to question whether the same, or similar properties can also be realized in more sustainable materials. Aluminum, the most abundant metal on our planet, can support high-quality plasmonic properties spanning the UV-to-IR region of the spectrum. Coupling a plasmonic nanoantenna directly to catalytic nanoparticles or individual single-atom catalytic sites transforms the entire complex into an efficient, light-controlled catalyst capable of driving chemical reactions under surprisingly mild, low temperature conditions. This new type of light-based catalyst can be utilized for remediating greenhouse gases, and converting them to useful molecules for industry, or benign molecules for a cleaner planet. We have previously introduced photothermal effects for biomedical therapeutics; now, years after their initial demonstration, this approach is being utilized in human trials for the precise and highly localized ablation of cancerous regions of the prostate, eliminating the highly deleterious side effects characteristic of conventional prostate cancer therapies. Photothermal effects can also be harvested for sustainability applications, which we have most recently demonstrated in an off-grid solar thermal desalination system that transforms membrane distillation into a scalable water purification process.
自古以来，金属纳米微粒就有着为材料增加多样的色彩等重要应用。自从19世纪法拉第观察到胶体金的散射后，金属纳米颗粒在科学界收到广泛关注，近年来更是成为了纳米尺度光调控的重要手段。被光照射时，金属纳米颗粒内的传导电子将产生表面等离激元共振，这就是其增强光与物质相互作用的原理。尽管表面等离激元最初发展于金、银等贵金属，最新的研究进展发现在更加常见的材料中也可以实现表面等离激元共振。例如，铝，这一地球上最丰富的金属元素，就能够在紫外到近红外波段支持丰富的表面等离激元模式。将一个表面等离激元纳米天线与化学催化剂分子或原子耦合在一起，则可以组合出可被光高效调控的催化剂。这种新型光调控的催化剂能够在更加低温和温和的反应条件下催化化学反应，从而可被用于净化温室气体等。此前，我们还曾展示过利用光的热效应进行生物医疗的方案，现在该方案已经被应用于人体前列腺癌的靶向治疗等，该方法没有传统癌症疗法的副作用。此外，光的热效应还可被用于可持续发展，我们发明了离网太阳能海水淡化系统，将基于膜蒸馏的水净化技术向大规模方向扩展。
BIOGRAPHY
rofessor Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University, where she also holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry, Materials Science and Nanoengineering, and Bioengineering. She is best known as the first person to demonstrate that controlling the geometry of metallic nanoparticles determines their color, and pursues fundamental studies and applications of nanophotonics ranging from biomedicine to water treatment to plasmonic photocatalysis. She is author of more than 350 refereed publications, has more than 20 issued patents, and has presented more than 600 invited talks. She has been a Highly Cited Researcher in Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Science since 2013. Her publications have been cited more than 100,000 times with an H-index of 155 (Google Scholar). She is Fellow of the APS, OSA, SPIE, IEEE, MRS, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Academy of Inventors. She has been awarded the Frank Isakson Prize and Julius Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society, the R. W. Wood Prize of the Optical Society of America, the American Chemical Society Award in Colloid Chemistry, and the Spiers Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Halas has been elected to the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering (U. S.), the Royal Society of Chemistry (U. K.), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
是莱斯大学（Rice University）的Stanley C.Moore电气和计算机工程教授，她还担任物理和天文学、化学、材料科学和纳米工程以及生物工程系的教员。她是第一个证明控制金属纳米颗粒的几何形状决定其颜色的人，并从事纳米光子学的基础研究和应用，从生物医学到水处理再到等离子体光催化。她著有350多篇参考文献，拥有20多项专利，并发表了600多篇特邀演讲。自2013年以来，她一直是物理、化学和材料科学领域备受关注的研究人员。她的著作被引用超过10万次，H指数为155（googlescholar）。她是APS、OSA、SPIE、IEEE、MRS、美国科学促进协会和国家发明者学会的成员。曾获美国物理学会弗兰克·伊萨克森奖、朱利叶斯·利林菲尔德奖、美国光学学会R.W.伍德奖、美国化学学会胶体化学奖、英国皇家化学学会斯皮尔斯奖章。哈拉斯被选入美国国家科学与工程院（National Academy of Sciences and Engineering）、英国皇家化学学会（Royal Society of Chemistry）和美国艺术与科学院（American Academy of Arts and Sciences）。