The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.
About the Nobel Laureates
- Alexei Ekimov was born in the former Soviet Union in 1945 and completed his doctorate at the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in 1974. At Nanocrystals Technology Inc. in New York, USA, he previously held the position of Chief Scientist.
- Louis Brus: A professor at Columbia University, Brus was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1943. In 1969, he earned his PhD there.
- Moungi Bawendi was born in Paris in 1961 and reared in France, Tunisia, and the United States. The University of Chicago awarded Bawendi a PhD in 1988. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the United States, he teaches.
What are Quantum Dots?
- Man-made nanoscale crystals known as quantum dots (QDs) are prized for their special optical and electrical characteristics.
- When exposed to UV light, they can emit a variety of colors and transport electrons.
- Theoretical ideas from the 1970s led to the successful synthesis of these artificially created semiconductor nanoparticles in the early 1980s.
- Quantum effects cause small semiconductor particles to change their optical characteristics with respect to size.
Working Principle
- Size Matters: Because wavelength (color) and energy levels are related, quantum dots can control light output based on size. They may emit or absorb particular colors of light by adjusting the size of their particles.
- Versatile Structures: There are many different types of quantum dots, and their characteristics are influenced by their size, shape, composition, and structure. They have a wide range of possible applications and can be used as active materials in single-electron transistors.
Contributions of Ekimov, Brus, and Bawendi
- Ekimov’s Soviet Discovery: Due to the limitations imposed by the Iron Curtain, Ekimov’s groundbreaking discoveries in this field from 1981 remained mostly unnoticed.
- Brus’s Independent Revelation: In the United States, Brus was utilizing cadmium sulfide particles to capture solar energy without being aware of Ekimov’s research. He noticed that the size-dependent quantum effect was demonstrated by the fact that smaller particles absorbed light at various wavelengths.
- Bawendi’s Innovations: Bawendi refined the processes for producing particles, which increased the quality of nanocrystals and allowed more scientists to investigate the special qualities of quantum dots.
Applications of Quantum Dots
- In electronics, quantum dots are essential to QLED technology, which is utilized in computer and TV screens. They also provide different color temperatures by adjusting the light in LED lamps.
- Biochemistry and Medicine: In biochemistry, quantum dots are utilized for the mapping of cells and organs. In medicine, their potential for tracking cancerous tissue within the body is being investigated. To accelerate chemical reactions, chemists take advantage of their catalytic abilities.
