Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this Wednesday.
The Academy has awarded the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, particles so small that their size determines their properties.
It is about the smallest nanotechnology componentswhich have revolutionized color televisions and LED lamps, but also have applications in medicine and other fields.
“It’s quite an honor,” Bawendi told the Academy in a telephone conversation shortly after the names were announced.
He claimed to feel “very surprised, sleepy, shocked and very honored“And he added that he did not know the news until receiving the call from the Academy.
Quantum dots are extremely tiny, just a few millionths of a millimeter.
Their size determines the color of the light they emit. when stimulated with electricity. The smallest ones are blue, and the largest ones are yellow and red.
“For a long time no one believed that such small particles could be created,” but this year’s winners have achieved just that, the Academy said when announcing the award.
The three award-winning scientists work in the United States.
Russian physicist Alexei I. Ekimovfrom Nanocrystals Technology Inc., was the first to discover quantum dots in the 1980s, in crystals.
Until then, physicists knew that, in theory, nanoparticles could have size-dependent quantum effects, but it was almost impossible to sculpt such small particles, so few thought that this knowledge could have practical consequences, says the Swedish Academy in a statement.
Years later, American chemist Louis E. Brusfrom Columbia University, managed to prove that the quantum effects of particles floating freely in a liquid depended on their size.
In 1993, French chemist Moungi Bawendifrom the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), revolutionized the chemical production of quantum dots, creating almost perfect particles.
“Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, (to create) tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication, so We have just begun to explore the potential of these tiny particles“said the Royal Swedish Academy.
“Quantum dots thus provide a great benefit to humanity,” added the institution that awards the Nobel Prize.
“Artificial atoms”
Already today, quantum dots have a multitude of practical applications.
“They can be used in the preparation of solar panels, in lighting systems for screens and television based on QLED technology and, of course, in biomedicine, since they allow obtaining images at the intracellular level that can be very useful in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer“says María José Ruedas Llama, professor of the Department of Physicochemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, at the University of Granada.
Quantum dots, one of the most important systems in nanoscience, have also been called “artificial atoms”since they are built in the laboratory, and “they are capable of confining electrons in regions of tiny size, thousands of times smaller than the thickness of a human hair,” says David Sánchez, researcher at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Physics and Complex Systems. (IFISC-CSIC-UIB).
“In nature, electrons are confined within atoms, but their manipulation is difficult and expensive. Thanks to quantum dots, electrons can be trapped so that their study is much easier,” adds the IFISC researcher.
The award also “reinforces the idea that there are no technological applications without fundamental research,” says Emilio Palomares, director of the Catalan Institute for Chemical Research (ICiQ).
The award is worth 11 million Swedish crowns (just under US$1 million), which will be distributed among the three winners.
Their names were announced by mistake in a press release from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences hours before the official announcement, generating great confusion.
“It’s very unfortunate. We deeply regret what happened,” said the general secretary of the academy, who assured that they were trying to understand what had happened.
However, he insisted that the final decision was not made until the Academy met just before the official announcement.
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