Quantum Dot Researchers Nobel Prize 2023

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) has announced the recipients of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, focusing their recognition on the field of quantum dots. This esteemed award is set to be shared among three distinguished researchers: Alexei I. Ekimov, Louis E. Brus, and Moungi G. Bawendi. Their collective achievements in the realm of nanotechnology have earned them this prestigious honor.

While the theoretical groundwork for quantum dots was laid earlier in the 20th century, this year's trio of Nobel laureates embarked on experimental verification. These nanoscale semiconductor particles exhibit intriguing quantum mechanical properties, manifesting in a range of colors when illuminated. Johan Åqvist, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, noted, 'Quantum dots possess numerous captivating and unconventional attributes. Notably, their colors vary with size.' Smaller dots emit bluer light, while larger ones emit redder light. Manipulating their size enables researchers to fine-tune colors, facilitating diverse scientific breakthroughs.

The Nobel laureates' groundbreaking research on quantum dots has yielded advancements across various domains, including display technology (e.g., QLED TVs and monitors), medical and biological imaging, solar cells, drug delivery systems, and quantum computing, among others. Researchers widely concur that we have only just begun to uncover the immense practical potential of quantum dots.

Ekimov, a distinguished solid-state physicist, stands as the pioneering figure who experimentally unearthed quantum dots in 1981 by synthesizing them within colored glass. Concurrently, Brus substantiated the size-dependent phenomena of these particles when suspended freely in a fluid medium. Over the ensuing decade, Bawendi took the helm in driving innovations in the chemical production of nanoparticles, culminating in what the KVA's press release aptly termed as "almost perfect particles."

The three distinguished recipients will equitably share a prestigious prize totaling 11 million Swedish krona, equivalent to approximately US$998,515.

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