Defects play a crucial role in shaping the efficiency and performance of semiconductor‐based technologies. Under illumination, the interaction between photo‐excited charge carriers and defect states in the semiconductor can significantly influence the response of devices and catalysts. Here, an X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy study conducted under light excitation is presented to track exciton generation and its interaction with defects in CeO ₂ , a widely used metal‐oxide support in (photo) catalysis. The light intensity‐dependent measurements reveal that photo‐excited electrons in CeO ₂ can effectively reduce Ce ⁴⁺ to Ce ³⁺ . Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy further highlights the critical role of Ce ³⁺ states in governing charge and energy transport across the CeO ₂ ‐molecule interface. Finally, how these photo‐induced states (Ce ³⁺ ) can be leveraged is demonstrated to control the selectivity in the photocatalytic CO ₂ reduction reaction, dramatically influencing the yields of CO, CH ₄ , and H ₂ .

100 MeV Ag ion beam irradiation induced thermal spike resulting from inelastic interaction, significantly modifies physicochemical properties of the TiO ₂ nanorods.

Commercialization of aluminum ion batteries requires limited volume expansion of the host cathode materials after AlCl₄ intercalation, lower activation barrier, high theoretical specific capacity, cyclic durability and thermodynamic stability.

We formulate the spin contribution to the inverse Faraday effect of nonmagnetic metals. We deal with the role of the inversion symmetry, which forces all electronic bands to be at least twice degenerate at every point in the Brillouin zone. We show both analytically and numerically that our formulation of the inverse Faraday effect is invariant under unitary rotation within the doubly degenerate set of bands. In addition, we show the importance of resonance-like features in the band structure for the inverse Faraday effect. Our first-principles computed spin component of the inverse Faraday effect in a simple metal such as Au is reminiscent of its optical absorption, with a characteristic $d–s$ resonance in the optical spectrum.

The inverse Faraday effect is an optomagnetic phenomenon that describes the ability of circularly polarized light to induce magnetism in solids. The capability of light to control magnetic order in solid state materials and devices is of interest for a variety of applications, such as magnetic recording, quantum computation, and spintronic technologies. However, significant gaps in understanding about the effect persist, such as what material properties govern the magnitude of the effect in metals. In this work, we report time-resolved measurements of the specular inverse Faraday effect in nonmagnetic metals, i.e., the magneto-optic Kerr effect induced by circularly polarized light. We measure this specular inverse Faraday effect in Cu, Pd, Pt, W, Ta, and Au at a laser wavelength of 783 nm. For Ta and W, we investigate both α and β phases. We observe that excitation of these metals with circularly polarized light induces significant circular dichroism. This nonlinear magneto-optical response to circularly polarized light is an order of magnitude larger in α-W than other metals, e.g., Pt or Au, and is greater than nearly all other reported values for the inverse Faraday effect in other materials. Our results benchmark the range of the inverse Faraday effect that can be observed in nonmagnetic metals and provide insight into what material properties govern the inverse Faraday effect in metals.