Quantum dots, tiny “artificial atoms” that revolutionized nanotechnology, were recognized with the Nobel Prizeof Chemistry 2023.
Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov were honored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for their pioneering work in the creation and application of these artificial structures.
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Quantum dots are nanoparticles created from semiconductor materials, also known as nanocrystals. What makes them notable is their extremely small size, measuring just a few millionths of a millimeter.
This downscaling makes them work according to quantum principles, resulting in unique optical and electronic properties.
Such particles have the ability to transport electrons and emit light of various colors when stimulated by light or electricity. This color variation ranges from blue in the smallest quantum dots to yellow and red in the largest.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 winners. (Image: Niklas Elmehed via BBC/Reproduction)
The story of the discovery of quantum dots is a journey of scientific perseverance. Soviet physicist Alexei Ekimov was the first to observe them in crystals in 1981, working with glass dyed with copper chloride.
Ekimov noticed that the size of the nanocrystals affected light absorption, thus demonstrating a size-dependent quantum effect.
American chemist Louis Brus of Columbia University expanded on these findings by observing that The size-dependent quantum effect also occurred in particles that floated freely in liquids.
The advances culminated in 1993, when French chemist Moungi Bawendi, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), managed to create nanocrystals of a specific size through techniques of injecting substances into a heated solvent, resulting in crystals “almost perfect.”
The practical applications of quantum dots are diverse. They are already present in commercial products, such as solar panels, lighting systems and television screens based on QLED technology.
Furthermore, they have great potential in areas such as flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication.
María José Ruedas Llama, professor at the Department of Physical Chemistry at the University of Granada, highlights that quantum dots make it possible to obtain images at an intracellular level, which can be fundamental for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, such as cancer.
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry also emphasizes the importance of fundamental research for the development of technological applications.
Emilio Palomares, director of the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research (ICiQ), highlights that such discoveries reinforce the idea that there are no technological applications without a solid research base.