The Nobel Prize for chemistry has been awarded to three scientists “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots”, which are nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties.<\/p>\n
Announcing the award Wednesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov “planted an important seed for nanotechnology.”<\/p>\n
These smallest components of nanotechnology now spread their light from televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons when they remove tumour tissue, among many other things.<\/p>\n
The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology.<\/p>\n
“Quantum dots have many fascinating and unusual properties. Importantly, they have different colours depending on their size,” said Johan \u00c5qvist, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.<\/p>\n
In the early 1980s, Alexei Ekimov succeeded in creating size-dependent quantum effects in coloured glass. The colour came from nanoparticles of copper chloride and Ekimov demonstrated that the particle size affected the colour of the glass via quantum effects.<\/p>\n
A few years later, Louis Brus was the first scientist in the world to prove size-dependent quantum effects in particles floating freely in a fluid.<\/p>\n
In 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionised the chemical production of quantum dots, resulting in almost perfect particles. This high quality was necessary for them to be utilised in applications.<\/p>\n