John AdoyiThree scientists, Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Alexei Ekimov have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize for Chemistry by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for their works on “the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots,” which illuminate computer monitors and television screens and most importantly, guide surgeons to map tissues of tumors amongst others.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden awards the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. In his will, Alfred Nobel stated that the Prize should be given to the person “making the most important chemical discovery or improvement” that would most benefit mankind.
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Announcing the three winners on Wednesday, the academy said: “The Nobel Laureates … 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.”
“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 Academy added.
The academy said Physicists did not believe that the works by the scientists were possible in the early 70s. However, the scientists succeeded starting with Alexei Ekimov who in the early 1980s, showcased size-dependent quantum effects in colored glass using copper chloride nanoparticles. Shortly after, Louis Brus confirmed similar effects in freely suspended particles in fluid. Then, in 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionized quantum dot production, achieving near-perfect particles.
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Moungi Bawendi is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT), Louis Brus is a professor emeritus at Columbia University and Alexei Ekimov works for Nanocrystals Technology, a company based in New York.
The trio, will on December 10 2023 receive their award, consisting of a diploma, a gold medal, and $1 million.
Since the inception of the Prize in 1901, 115 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry have been awarded. Out of the 115, only eight women have won while 27 chemistry prizes have been shared by three laureates.
Two people, Frederick Sanger and Barry Sharpless, have been awarded the chemistry prize twice.
Barry Sharpless in 2022 alongside two other scientists, Carolyn Bertozzi and Morten Meldal received the Chemistry Prize for “development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.”
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