Date:2023/10/04 NOAH
Announcement of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry by Professor Hans Ellegren, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, on 4 October 2023.
They planted an important seed for nanotechnology
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties. These smallest components of nanotechnology now spread their light from televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons when they remove tumour tissue, among many other things.
Everyone who studies chemistry learns that an element’s properties are governed by how many electrons it has. However, when matter shrinks to nano-dimensions quantum phenomena arise; these are governed by the size of the matter. The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology.
“Quantum dots have many fascinating and unusual properties. Importantly, they have different colours depending on their size,” says Johan Åqvist, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
Physicists had long known that in theory size-dependent quantum effects could arise in nanoparticles, but at that time it was almost impossible to sculpt in nanodimensions. Therefore, few people believed that this knowledge would be put to practical use.
However, in the early 1980s, Alexei Ekimov succeeded in creating size-dependent quantum effects in coloured glass. The colour came from nanoparticles of copper chloride and Ekimov demonstrated that the particle size affected the colour of the glass via quantum effects.
A few years later, Louis Brus was the first scientist in the world to prove size-dependent quantum effects in particles floating freely in a fluid.
In 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionised the chemical production of quantum dots, resulting in almost perfect particles. This high quality was necessary for them to be utilised in applications.
Quantum dots now illuminate computer monitors and television screens based on QLED technology. They also add nuance to the light of some LED lamps, and biochemists and doctors use them to map biological tissue.
Quantum dots are thus bringing the greatest benefit to humankind. Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication – so we have just started exploring the potential of these tiny particles.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov "for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots"
Nobel Prize awarded for discovery of quantum dots that changed everything from TV displays to cancer imaging
The 2023 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to a trio of scientists who worked to discover and develop quantum dots, used in LED lights and TV screens, as well as by surgeons when removing cancer tissue.
Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov were lauded as “pioneers in the exploration of the nanoworld” by the Nobel committee for chemistry as it announced the prize in Swedish capital Stockholm on Wednesday.
“For a long time, nobody thought you could ever actually make such small particles. But this year’s laureates succeeded,” said Johan Aqvist, chair of the committee.
Heiner Linke, a member of the chemistry committee, explained at the announcement ceremony what made the laureates’ work so revolutionary.
“The core thing about quantum dots is that, just by changing their size… you change their properties, for example their color. This is completely unusual,” Linke said.
“If you imagine, for example, you want to dye T-shirts – a red one, a green one, a yellow one, a blue one. For each of these colors, you would use a different molecule. Different atoms in different constellations give you different colors – that’s what chemistry is all about,” he said.
But, thanks to the scientists’ work in nanotechnology, quantum dots allow us to “use precisely the same atoms in the same constellations and just change the size, how many of the atoms you have, and get new colors and new other properties.”
Bawendi, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Brus, professor emeritus at Columbia University, are American. Ekimov is Russian and works for Nanocrystals Technology Inc., which is based in New York.
France-born Bawendi, got an early morning call from Stockholm breaking the news that he is one of the 2023 chemistry laureates. He told the news conference he felt “very surprised, sleepy, shocked, unexpected and very honored” and would celebrate his win by teaching his 9 a.m. class at MIT.
“Quantum dots can be seen as one milestone for the whole field of nanotechnology”
Immediately after the announcement, Professor Heiner Linke, member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, was interviewed by journalist Sharon Jåma regarding the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov
Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots”. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties. These smallest components of nanotechnology now spread their light from televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons when they remove tumour tissue, among many other things. The Nobel Prize amount for 2023 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize.
Everyone who studies chemistry learns that an element’s properties are governed by how many electrons it has. However, when matter shrinks to nano-dimensions quantum phenomena arise; these are governed by the size of the matter. The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology.
What is Quantum dots?
Quantum dots now illuminate computer monitors and television screens based on QLED technology. They also add nuance to the light of some LED lamps, and biochemists and doctors use them to map biological tissue.
Quantum dots are thus bringing the greatest benefit to humankind. Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication – so we have just started exploring the potential of these tiny particles.
About the Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov
Moungi G. Bawendi, born 1961 in Paris, France. PhD 1988 from University of Chicago, IL, USA. Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA.
Louis E. Brus, born 1943 in Cleveland, OH, USA. PhD 1969 from Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Professor at Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Alexei I. Ekimov, born 1945 in the former USSR. PhD 1974 from Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Formerly Chief Scientist at Nanocrystals Technology Inc., New York, NY, USA.
About the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded 114 times to 191 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2022. Frederick Sanger and Barry Sharpless have both been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. This means that a total of 189 individuals have received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Click on the links to get more information.
The Nobel Prize medal in chemistry was designed by Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg and represents Nature in the form of a goddess resembling Isis, emerging from the clouds and holding in her arms a cornucopia. The veil which covers her cold and austere face is held up by the Genius of Science.
Youngest chemistry laureate
To date, the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry is Frédéric Joliot, who was 35 years old when he was awarded the chemistry prize in 1935, together with his wife, Irène Joliot-Curie.
Oldest chemistry laureate
The oldest Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry to date is John B. Goodenough, who was 97 years old when he was awarded the chemistry prize in 2019. He is also the oldest laureate to be awarded in all prize categories.
First reactions – Moungi Bawendi
“I’m supposed to teach at 9 this morning”
Listen to the early morning call Moungi Bawendi got, just after the news of his 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry had reached him. Bawendi tells Adam Smith how he received the call, speaks about his co-laureate and mentor Louis Brus, and discusses what he tries to teach his students. Read a transcript of the interview
First reactions – Louis Brus
“This is a collaborative effort”
“This is a collaborative effort,” says Louis Brus when asked for his first reaction to the award of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, “partly physics, partly chemistry, partly material science.” In this conversation with Adam Smith he pays tribute to the many contributors to the field and his own motivations for exploring the nature of nanoparticles in the productive environment of Bell Labs, 40 years ago. Read the interview
First reactions – Alexei Ekimov
“It’s the middle of the night here!”
Alexei Ekimov’s first reaction to hearing the news of his 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was reasonable enough: “I woke up,” he says! In this call with Adam Smith, made not long afterwards, Ekimov goes on to discuss the experiments he performed over forty years ago producing quantum effects in coloured glass.
Read the transcript of the interview