Front Cover: Effect of Nanoparticle Size on Plasmonic Heat‐Driven Organic Transformation (ChemNanoMat 10/2022)

The plasmonic heat generated from the photoexcited gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is used to fuel a thermally driven organic transformation of pyrone to pyridinone. The yield of the product was comparable to that obtained from normal heating at 90 °C, which proves the potential of AuNP as an energy-efficient ‘plasmonic heater’ for future organic transformations. AuNPs in the size regime of 10-24 nm were found to be most effective, which confirms the suitability of organic transformation as a tool to qualitatively compare the effect of various NP parameters on the chemical effectiveness of the plasmonic heat. More information can be found in the Research Article by Pramod P. Pillai et al.