2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Quantum dot in the leading role

The laureates of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2023 have been announced. Similarly to the laureates in the field of physics, three scientists will be honored. They received the prestigious award for the discovery of quantum dots.

Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Alexey Ivanovich Yekimov are this year's Nobel Prize winners in the field of chemistry. The scientists were recognized for their discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. Enthusiasts of new technologies, who appreciate high-quality screens, can be grateful for the work of this three-person scientific team.

The quantum dot allows for the creation of screens that better reproduce colors from recordings or photographs. Moreover, computer or television screens made using quantum dots are characterized by greater brightness than traditional LED screens.

In justifying the award of the Nobel Prize in the field of chemistry, the Nobel Committee wrote that its laureates "added color to nanotechnology". Quantum dots have found application in computer and television screens based on QLED technology.

However, this technology also finds application in medicine. Biochemists and doctors can use quantum dots to map biological tissues. Scientists hope that quantum dots will be used in the development of so-called flexible, or elastic, electronics. In addition, it may allow for the construction of very small sensors and thinner solar cells, as well as the development of quantum cryptography. Quantum dot technology can also assist surgeons in the process of removing tumors.

As reported by physicsworld.com, scientists have been aware since the 1930s that quantum effects could theoretically occur in nanoparticles, but until the 1980s it was difficult to recreate such materials. In the early 1980s, Yekimov created size-dependent quantum effects in colored glass. The color came from copper chloride nanoparticles, and Yekimov showed that the size of the particles affected the color of the glass through quantum effects.

In the following years, Brus demonstrated size-dependent quantum effects in freely floating particles in liquid. In 1993, Bawendi revolutionized the production of quantum dots, resulting in nearly perfect particles. Since then, they have been used in monitor and television screens.