Polaritonic Enhancement of Near-Field Scattering of Small Molecules Encapsulated in Boron Nitride Nanotubes: Chemical Reactions in Confined Spaces

Near-field spectroscopy has been extensively applied recently to analyze collective optical properties of materials at the nanoscale. However, vibrations small molecules were only recognizable in close proximity a metallic resonator. We show that encapsulation boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT) enhances near-field vibrational spectra C$_{60}$ fullerene, reaching sensitivity limit few hundred molecules. Furthermore, products chemical reactions inside tubes can be identified, so long as their signatures lie polariton gap BNNT.