Browse hot topics, Virtual Collections, and more in celebration of light and its role in advancing scientific discovery.

Light beams shining out from blue solar panels

The International Day of Light, held each year on May 16, is a global initiative that celebrates the importance of light and its ever-growing contributions to the advancement of science, art, education, and sustainable development.

May 16 marks the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer Theodore Maiman. The laser is a perfect example of how a scientific discovery can yield revolutionary benefits to society in communications, healthcare, and many other fields.

To celebrate this year’s International Day of Light, we present a collection of resources highlighting noteworthy contributions in ACS Journals across all areas of optics and photonics. We hope you enjoy the selections below, and we encourage you to submit your own work in these exciting fields.

Recent and Relevant Virtual Issues

Hot Topics and Research Highlights from ACS Journals

Shaping and Tuning Lighting Conditions in Controlled Environment Agriculture: A Review
Darren Chi Jin Neo*, Maxine Min Xin Ong, Yeong Yuh Lee, Ee Jin Teo, Qunya Ong, Hendrix Tanoto, Jianwei Xu, Kian Soo Ong*, and Vignesh Suresh*
DOI: 10.1021/acsagscitech.1c00241

Effect of Ultraviolet Light Exposure and Compost Tea Supplementation on Growth, Antioxidant Activities, and Microbiome of Hydroponically Grown Mustard Greens
Stephanie Lu, Daniel Pentico, Robert Castro, Sherry Dinh, John J. Love, David L. Larom, Ramona L. Pérez, and Changqi Liu*
DOI: 10.1021/acsagscitech.1c00292

Efficient Nondoped Pure Red/Near-Infrared TADF OLEDs by Designing and Adjusting Double Quantum Wells Structure
Yufu Sun, Weidong Sun, Wenxing Liu, Xiaokang Li, Jiaxuan Yin, and Liang Zhou*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaelm.2c00531

Exciton Regulation for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Improved Efficiency and Roll-Off by Managing the Bipolar Spacer Layers Based on Interfacial Exciplexes
Shian Ying, Shu Xiao, Ling Peng, Qian Sun, Yanfeng Dai, Xianfeng Qiao, Dezhi Yang, Jiangshan Chen, and Dongge Ma*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaelm.2c00483

Excellent Quantum Efficiency and Superior Color Purity Red-Emitting CaAl12O19–CaAl4O7–MgAl2O4:Mn4+ Phosphors for Plant Growth and High Color Rendering Index White Light-Emitting Diode Applications
Nguyen Thi Huyen, Nguyen Tu, Nguyen Van Quang, Do Quang Trung*, Manh Trung Tran, Nguyen Van Du, Nguyen Duy Hung, Dao Xuan Viet, Nguyen Duc Trung Kien, and Pham Thanh Huy*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaelm.2c00603

Strategies to Enhance Light Emission from Two-Dimensional Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes: Challenges and Future Opportunities
Yukta and Soumitra Satapathi*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaelm.1c01142

Compact Foveated AR Displays with Polarization Selective Planar Lenses
Qian Yang, Yannanqi Li, Yuqiang Ding, and Shin-Tson Wu*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaom.2c00203

Plasmonic Mode Analysis on Asymmetric ITO/Au/ITO Hyperbolic Metamaterials Using Prism-Coupled Spectroscopic Ellipsometry
Ka Kin Lam, King Wah Gabriel Chan, Sheung Mei NG, Hon Fai Wong, Lin Feng Fei, Yu Kuai Liu, Kin Hung Fung, Chi Wah Leung, and Chee Leung Mak*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaom.2c00150

Nanoscale Characterization of Individual Three-Dimensional Split Ring Resonator Systems
C. Praise Anyanwu, Grace Pakeltis, Philip D. Rack*, and David J. Masiello*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaom.2c00157

Periodically Poled Monolayer Lithium Niobate for Photonic Chips of Quantum Devices
Guoyu Yang*, Zhenyu Li, and Kechen Wu
DOI: 10.1021/acsaom.2c00015

Fabrication of Perovskite Nanocrystal Light-Emitting Diodes via Inkjet Printing with High-Temperature Annealing
Kohei Satake, Yuki Sato, Kohei Narazaki, Takayuki Chiba*, Shunsuke Sumikoshi, Reine Moriyama, Rikuo Suzuki, Yu-Hong Cheng, Kota Tamura, and Junji Kido*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaom.2c00053

Dye-Encapsulated Lanthanide Metal–Organic Framework-Based Photonic Crystals for Multilevel Optical Anticounterfeiting Application
Meiling Li, Weiting Yang*, Guang Che, Yan Gao, Chaowei Zhang, Qi Zhou, Jiyang Li*, and Qinhe Pan*
DOI: 10.1021/acsaom.2c00058

Recent Advances in Analytical Detection of Olive Oil Adulteration
Jingyao Zhang, Huiyue Sun, and Weiying Lu*
DOI: 10.1021/acsfoodscitech.1c00254

Raman and Infrared Spectroscopic Data Fusion Strategies for Rapid, Multicomponent Quantitation of Krill Oil Compositions
Fatema Ahmmed, Ioan D. Fuller, Daniel P. Killeen, Sara J. Fraser-Miller, and Keith C. Gordon*
DOI: 10.1021/acsfoodscitech.0c00139ACS Food Science & Technology

2,7-Diaminobenzopyrylium Dyes Are Live-Cell Mitochondrial Stains
Sambashiva Banala, Ariana N. Tkachuk, Ronak Patel, Pratik Kumar, Timothy A. Brown, and Luke D. Lavis*
DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.1c00068

Challenges Facing Sustainable Visible Light Induced Degradation of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyls (PFA) in Water: A Critical Review
Jhimli Paul Guin*, James A. Sullivan, and K. Ravindranathan Thampi*
DOI: 10.1021/acsengineeringau.1c00031

Eu2+ Doping Concentration-Induced Site-Selective Occupation and Photoluminescence Tuning in KSrScSi2O7:Eu2+ Phosphor
Shunqi Lai, Ming Zhao, Yifei Zhao, Maxim S. Molokeev, and Zhiguo Xia*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c00081

(NH4)2AgX3 (X = Br, I): 1D Silver Halides with Broadband White Light Emission and Improved Stability
Tielyr D. Creason, Hadiah Fattal, Isaiah W. Gilley, Timothy M. McWhorter, Mao-Hua Du, and Bayram Saparov*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c00009

Light-Responsive Solid–Solid Phase Change Materials for Photon and Thermal Energy Storage
Xiang Li, Sungwon Cho, and Grace G. D. Han*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.2c00055

A Sensitizer of Purpose: Generating Triplet Excitons with Semiconductor Nanocrystals
Rachel Weiss, Zachary A. VanOrman, Colette M. Sullivan, and Lea Nienhaus*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.2c00047

Conversion of Interfacial Chemical Bonds for Inducing Efficient Photoelectrocatalytic Water Splitting
Xi Chen, Xuchen Zheng, Lu Qi, Yurui Xue*, and Yuliang Li*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c00071

Fluorine-Rich Zinc Oxoclusters as Extreme Ultraviolet Photoresists: Chemical Reactions and Lithography Performance
Neha Thakur*, Michaela Vockenhuber, Yasin Ekinci, Benjamin Watts, Angelo Giglia, Nicola Mahne, Stefano Nannarone, Sonia Castellanos*, and Albert M. Brouwer*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c00059

Understanding the Thickness and Light-Intensity Dependent Performance of Green-Solvent Processed Organic Solar Cells
Dana Lübke, Paula Hartnagel, Markus Hülsbeck, and Thomas Kirchartz*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.2c00070

Immobilization of a [CoIIICoII(H2O)W11O39]7– Polyoxoanion for the Photocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Sreejith P. Nandan, Nadiia I. Gumerova*, Jasmin S. Schubert, Hikaru Saito, Annette Rompel, Alexey Cherevan*, and Dominik Eder
DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.2c00025

Accessing In Situ Photocorrosion under Realistic Light Conditions: Photoelectrochemical Scanning Flow Cell Coupled to Online ICP-MS
Ken J. Jenewein*, Attila Kormányos, Julius Knöppel, Karl J. J. Mayrhofer, and Serhiy Cherevko*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.1c00016

From Light Pipes to Substrate-Integrated Hollow Waveguides for Gas Sensing: A Review
Diandra Nunes Barreto, Vjekoslav Kokoric, João Flávio da Silveira Petruci, and Boris Mizaikoff*
DOI: 10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.1c00029

Finite-Size Effects on Energy Transfer between Dopants in Nanocrystals
Mark J. J. Mangnus, Jeffrey Zom, Tom A. J. Welling, Andries Meijerink, and Freddy T. Rabouw*
DOI: 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.1c00033

Inverse-Designed Metaphotonics for Hypersensitive Detection
Maxim Elizarov, Yuri S. Kivshar, and Andrea Fratalocchi*
DOI: 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.2c00009

Optical Quantification of Metal Ions Using Plasmonic Nanostructured Microbeads Coated with Metal–Organic Frameworks and Ion-Selective Dyes
Tolga Zorlu, Begoña Puértolas, I. Brian Becerril-Castro, Luca Guerrini, Vincenzo Giannini, Miguel A. Correa-Duarte*, and Ramon A. Alvarez-Puebla*
DOI: 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.2c00063

White-Light Spectral Interferometry for Characterizing Inhomogeneity in Solutions and Nanocolloids
Aparna Praturi, Stefan Schrod, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Parinda Vasa*
DOI: 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.2c00014

Visible-Light-Driven C–S Bond Formation Based on Electron Donor–Acceptor Excitation and Hydrogen Atom Transfer Combined System
Tatsuhiro Uchikura, Yurina Hara, Kazushi Tsubono, and Takahiko Akiyama*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.1c00007

Porphyrins as Promising Photocatalysts for Red-Light-Induced Functionalizations of Biomolecules
Katarzyna Rybicka-Jasińska*, Tomasz Wdowik, Klaudia Łuczak, Aleksandra J. Wierzba, Olga Drapała, and Dorota Gryko*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.2c00025

Photochemical [2 + 2] Cycloaddition of Alkenes with Maleimides: Highlighting the Differences between N-Alkyl vs N-Aryl Maleimides
Elpida Skolia and Christoforos G. Kokotos*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.2c00053

Visible-Light-Mediated (sp3)Cα–H Functionalization of Ethers Enabled by Electron Donor–Acceptor Complex
Sourav Roy and Indranil Chatterjee*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.2c00008

Direct Access to Unnatural Cyclobutane α-Amino Acids through Visible Light Catalyzed [2+2]-Cycloaddition
Martin Stinglhamer, Xheila Yzeiri, Tabea Rohlfs, Tobias Brandhofer, Constantin G. Daniliuc, and Olga García Mancheño*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.2c00026

Synthesis of Sulfonyl Chlorides from Aryldiazonium Salts Mediated by a Heterogeneous Potassium Poly(heptazine imide) Photocatalyst
Yevheniia Markushyna*, Markus Antonietti, and Aleksandr Savateev*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.1c00038

Recent Advances in Light-Induced Selenylation
Stefano Protti and Maurizio Fagnoni*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.2c00033

Alternatives to Iridium: A Polyaza[7]helicene as a Strongly Reductive Visible Light Photoredox Catalyst
Johannes Rocker and Till Opatz*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.2c00022

Organophotoredox 1,6-Addition of 3,4-Dihydroquinoxalin-2-ones to para-Quinone Methides Using Visible Light
Jaume Rostoll-Berenguer, Víctor García-García, Gonzalo Blay, José R. Pedro*, and Carlos Vila*
DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.2c00064


Nanoscale Assembly of CdS/BiVO4 Hybrids for Coupling Selective Fine Chemical Synthesis and Hydrogen Production under Visible Light
Feng-Kang Shang, Ming-Yu Qi, Chang-Long Tan, Zi-Rong Tang*, and Yi-Jun Xu*
DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.1c00053

Impact of Molecular Ligands in the Synthesis and Transformation between Metal Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots and Magic Sized Clusters
Li Liu, Keliang Pan*, Ke Xu, and Jin Z. Zhang*
DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.1c00047

A Bipolar CdS/Pd Photocatalytic Membrane for Selective Segregation of Reduction and Oxidation Processes
Federica Costantino, Luca Gavioli, and Prashant V. Kamat*
DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.1c00035

Dual Singlet Excited-State Quenching Mechanisms in an Artificial Caroteno-Phthalocyanine Light Harvesting Antenna
Janneke Ravensbergen, Smitha Pillai, Dalvin D. Méndez-Hernández, Raoul N. Frese, Rienk van Grondelle, Devens Gust, Thomas A. Moore, Ana L. Moore, and John T. M. Kennis*
DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.1c00008

Excitonic Nature of Carotenoid–Phthalocyanine Dyads and Its Role in Transient Absorption Spectra
Vladislav Sláma*, Lorenzo Cupellini, and Benedetta Mennucci*
DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.1c00049

Photosynthesis Enhancement in Maize via Nontoxic Orange Carbon Dots
Ivana Milenković, Milan Borišev, Yiqun Zhou, Sladjana Z. Spasić, Roger M. Leblanc, and Ksenija Radotić*
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c01094

Current Review of the Modulatory Effects of LED Lights on Photosynthesis of Secondary Metabolites and Future Perspectives of Microgreen Vegetables
Oday Alrifai, Xiuming Hao, Massimo F. Marcone, and Rong Tsao*
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b00819

Transfer Learned Designer Polymers For Organic Solar Cells
Joydeep Munshi, Wei Chen, TeYu Chien, and Ganesh Balasubramanian*
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01157

Machine Learning Enables Highly Accurate Predictions of Photophysical Properties of Organic Fluorescent Materials: Emission Wavelengths and Quantum Yields
Cheng-Wei Ju*, Hanzhi Bai, Bo Li, and Rizhang Liu
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01203

Improving Data and Prediction Quality of High-Throughput Perovskite Synthesis with Model Fusion
Yuanqing Tang, Zhi Li, Mansoor Ani Najeeb Nellikkal, Hamed Eramian, Emory M. Chan, Alexander J. Norquist, D. Frank Hsu, and Joshua Schrier*
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c01307


Electronic Structure of Multicomponent Organic Molecular Materials: Evaluation of Range-Separated Hybrid Functionals
Eunkyung Cho, Veaceslav Coropceanu*, and Jean-Luc Brédas*
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00138

Quantum and Quantum-Classical Studies of the Photoisomerization of a Retinal Chromophore Model
Emanuele Marsili, Massimo Olivucci, David Lauvergnat*, and Federica Agostini*
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00679

Benchmarking the Performance of Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Methods on Biochromophores
Yihan Shao*, Ye Mei, Dage Sundholm*, and Ville R. I. Kaila*
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b00823

Want the latest stories delivered to your inbox each month?