Nobel Chemistry 2023 honors nanotechnology research

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists for research on quantum dots, the smallest parts of nanotechnology, applications of transmitting light from TVs and LED lights, and illuminating cancerous tissue for surgeons.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at 4:45 p.m. on October 4 (Hanoi time) announced three scientists Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov as the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. .

Three scientists Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023. (Photo: CNN)

Moungi G. Bawendi (62 years old) was born in France, currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. Louis E. Brus (80 years old), American, currently a professor at Columbia University, USA. Alexei I. Ekimov (78 years old), born in the Soviet Union. He became a doctor at the Ioffe Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia, in 1974 and was a chief scientist at Nanocrystals Technology company, USA.

Chemists know that an element's characteristics are determined by its number of electrons. However, when matter shrinks to nanoscale dimensions, quantum phenomena arise and are governed by the size of the matter. Nobel Chemistry 2023 scholars successfully produce particles so small that their characteristics are determined by quantum phenomena. This class of particles called quantum dots is now of great importance in nanotechnology.

"Quantum dots have many interesting and unusual characteristics. The important thing is that they have different colors depending on their size ," said Johan Åqvist, president of the Nobel Assembly for Chemistry.

Physicists have long known that size-dependent quantum effects could theoretically arise in nanoparticles, but at the time, it was nearly impossible to tune nanoscale dimensions. Therefore, very few people believe that the above knowledge can be applied in practice.

However, in the early 1980s, Alexei Ekimov successfully created size-dependent quantum effects in colored glass. The color comes from copper chloride nanoparticles, and Ekimov demonstrated that particle size affects the color of the glass through quantum effects.

A few years later, Louis Brus became the first scientist in the world to demonstrate size-dependent quantum effects in freely floating particles in liquids.

In 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionized the chemical production process of quantum dots, resulting in nearly perfect particles. Such high quality is essential for using quantum dots in many applications.

Quantum dots now help brighten computer and TV screens based on QLED technology. They also add tint to the light of some LEDs, and biochemists and doctors also use them to map biological tissue.

Quantum dots thus bring great benefits to humanity. Researchers believe that in the future, they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communications. Humans are only just beginning to explore the potential of these tiny particles.

This year's Nobel Prize winner will receive a bonus of 11 million Swedish krona ($986,000), an increase of one million Swedish krona compared to 2022.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists Carolyn R. Bertozzi (USA), Morten Meldal (Denmark) and K. Barry Sharpless (USA) for their research on the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry , applications for cell discovery and cancer drug innovation.