Selected applications of plasmonic nanoparticles in photosciences

Plasmonics, the science of controlling light at subwavelength dimensions by excitation of surface plasmons in nanostructures, has emerged over the past few decades as a unique tool to boost the efficiency of a plethora of intrinsically weak phenomena, from Raman scattering to the production of singlet oxygen. By guiding the reader through fundamental concepts in plasmonics, this book chapter provides an overview of the history and the current state of research to amplify photophysical, photothermal and photochemical pathways via plasmonic nanoparticles.