Yossi Weizmann

Congratulations to Zuckerman Faculty Scholar Yossi Weizmann, Professor of Chemistry at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, on the publication of Let There Be Heat: Silica-Coated Gold Nanoparticles as Photothermal Reactors for Chemical Synthesis in the May 6, 2025 issue of Accounts of Chemical Research. A visualization of the team’s discovery on the back cover of the issue shows  silica-coated gold nanoparticles harnessing energy from light and rapidly converting it into heat through plasmonic resonance. This photothermal conversion unlocks new possibilities in chemical synthesis, providing a promising method that could advance chemistry, providing versatility for generating novel materials and driving reactions beyond conventional heating techniques.

Abstract:
The heating of matter upon interacting with light is a fundamental process ubiquitous in the natural world. With the rise of nanotechnology over the past decades, a variety of nanomaterials capable of converting light into heat have been discovered and their physicochemical properties investigated.