Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to 3 scientists who discovered quantum dots

Quantum dots are currently used to create colors in flat-panel displays, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and devices that illuminate cancerous tissue for surgeons.

The Royal Swedish Academy said the scientists had "added colour to nanotechnology" - when matter is used at the atomic or molecular level in manufacturing - and their discovery had great potential in many fields.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who discovered quantum mechanics. — Hans Ellegren (center), Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announces the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry during a press conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, October 4, 2023. Photo: Reuters

The more than century-old prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is worth $1 million.

Asked at a press conference how he felt when he heard about his award, Mr Bawendi said by phone from the US: "Very surprised, shocked, surprised and very honored."

"One of the 'fascinating and unusual properties' of quantum dots is that they produce different colours of light, depending on the particle size, while keeping their atomic structure unchanged," said Johan Aqvist, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

“There is a lot of work that is still being done on other potential applications, including catalysis and various types of quantum effects,” Bawendi said at a press conference. “It’s a very exciting area of research. I’m sure something really interesting will come out of this.”

In the early 1980s, Mr. Ekimov discovered that the color of glass changes depending on the size of the copper chloride molecules contained in it and the subatomic forces at play.

Several years later, Mr. Brus made similar groundbreaking discoveries about the color of liquids.

In 1993, Mr. Bawendi revolutionized the production of quantum dots, which are made up of clusters of a few hundred to a few thousand atoms.

Bawendi is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brus is an emeritus professor at Columbia University, and Ekimov works for Nanocrystals Technology Inc.

Mr. Brus was hired by AT&T Bell Labs in 1972, where he worked for 23 years, spending much of his time researching nanocrystals.

Bawendi was born in Paris and grew up in France, Tunisia, and the United States. Bawendi did his postdoctoral research under Brus, then joined MIT in 1990 and became a professor in 1996.

Mr. Ekimov, who was born in the Soviet Union, worked for the Vavilov State Institute of Optics before moving to the United States. In 1999, Ekimov was appointed chief scientist at Nanocrystals Technology Inc.

The third Nobel prize this year, the chemistry prize, follows the medicine and physics prizes announced earlier this week.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters)

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