Plasmonics for environmental remediation and pollutant degradation

Minimizing environmental pollution and its health effects requires increasingly complex and sophisticated approaches to pollutant degradation. Plasmonic nanoparticles can enhance the degradation of environmental pollutants due to their strong light absorption and increasingly efficient and selective catalysis. We highlight the material, chemical, and environmental considerations for using plasmonic nanostructures and technologies to degrade pollutants in air, water, and soil. A particular focus is paid to the material considerations for persistent and emerging recalcitrant pollutants including pharmaceuticals, per- and poly-fluoralkyl substances (PFASs), and pesticides. Finally, we discuss specific barriers that need to be overcome to realize scalable, efficient, and reliable plasmon-enhanced technology for maintaining clean air, water, and soil. • Identifying new strategies for capturing and degrading increasingly complex and persistent environmental pollutants are essential for maintaining clean air, water, and soil. • Light-absorbing plasmonic nanoparticles provide a promising path toward degrading some of the most stable and persistent pollutants due to the unique reaction pathways that they can activate. • Continued progress requires greater fundamental understanding of plasmonic chemistry as well as practical advances in materials design and integration with existing environmental cleanup strategies. Plasmonic materials have the ability to activate and degrade stable and persistent pollutants. This perspective addresses current challenges in leveraging plasmonic materials for environmental pollutant degradation. It details necessary mechanistic insights, material advances, and technological demonstrations for impacting pollutant degradation in air, water, and soil.