Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to 3 Quantum Dots Researchers

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for being pioneers of the nanoworld. The new laureates discovered and developed quantum dots, semiconductors made of particles squeezed so small that their electrons barely have room to breathe.

Semiconductors are crystals that help power our electronics. But while traditional crystals may be quite large at the molecular level, a quantum dot consists of just a few thousand atoms. The difference in size between a quantum dot and a soccer ball is about the same as the difference between a soccer ball and Earth, the Nobel Foundation said.

Quantum dots are used to tune colors in LED lights and increase the resolution of television screens. They can also be used as fluorescent imaging tools in biomedical applications, like removing cancer tissue. Quantum dots are expected to lead to advances in electronics, solar cells and encrypted quantum information.

“For a long time, nobody thought you could ever actually make such small particles,” Johan Aqvist, the chair of the Academy’s Nobel committee for chemistry, said at a news conference announcing the 2023 laureates. Presenting the topic with five colorful flasks lined up in front of him that he said contained quantum dots in a liquid solution, he said: “But this year’s laureates succeeded.”

The news of the laureates’ expected win had been reported earlier Wednesday morning in the Swedish news media, a highly unusual leak that was then reported by Reuters and The Associated Press several hours before the official announcement by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize.

The Swedish news outlets cited what they said was an email from the Academy that had been mistakenly sent early. Reuters quoted Dr. Aqvist as saying, “It is a mistake by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.” He noted that the committee’s meeting was due to start at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. Eastern) and added, “so no decision has been made yet. The winners have not been selected.”

Who are the winners?

Dr. Bawendi is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and used to study under Dr. Brus as a postdoctoral researcher. He was born in France.

Dr. Brus is a professor emeritus at Columbia University. He was born in the United States.

Dr. Ekimov was previously the chief scientist at Nanocrystals Technology, a company based in New York. He was born in the former Soviet Union.

Why did the committee say they received the prize?

In the nanoworld, the size of matter is measured in millionths of a millimeter, the committee said. The laureates’ work allowed for the exploitation of some of the peculiar properties of that indiscernible realm, they said.

In the early 1980s, Dr. Brus and Dr. Ekimov created quantum dots independently of each other. But more research was needed before the dots could reach the appropriate level of quality for technological applications. They had to be made in solution “with exquisite control of their size and surface,” Dr. Aqvist said. Dr. Bawendi, he added, invented an ingenuous chemical method “for doing just this.”

“He could now make perfect nanoparticles of very specific size and very high quality,” Dr. Aqvist said.

That led to their use in QLED screens in modern televisions and for imaging in biochemistry, medicine and much more.

How do their colleagues describe their work?

Judith Giordan, president of the American Chemical Society, described the work as “a magnificent example” of something that began as a theory, was perfected in academic labs and then brought forward into the world for useful applications.

“This isn’t just esoteric science,” she said. “This is meant to help people.”

According to Dr. Giordan, quantum dots enable the tiniest pixel sizes that lead to ultrahigh definition TV screens. They also give us a wide range of color temperatures in the bulbs that light our homes. Early research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates that quantum dots may pave the way for twice the efficiency of currently used solar panels.

What did the laureates say about winning the prize?

Dr. Bawendi said he was “sound asleep” when he got the call.

“I wasn’t sure it was true,” he said in an interview with the Nobel Foundation. “It’s quite an honor and quite a surprise.”

He added that the honor was complemented by sharing the prize with his former mentor, Dr. Brus. “He molded me as a scientist,” Dr. Bawendi said.

Before the announcement, Dr. Bawendi was scheduled to teach a 9 a.m. class at M.I.T., though he wasn’t sure if that was still going to happen. Of the day’s chaos, he said, “I’m just going to let it ride.”

Who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022?

The prize went to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless for work on click chemistry.

Who else has received a Nobel Prize in the sciences this year?

• On Monday, the prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for a chemical modification to messenger RNA. The tweak led to the successful development of Covid-19 vaccines and saved millions of lives. Dr. Karikó is the 13th woman to win the Nobel Prize in this category.

• On Tuesday, the prize in Physics was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier for techniques that illuminate the subatomic realm of electrons. Dr. L’Huillier is the fifth woman to be chosen for a Nobel in this category.

When will the other Nobel Prizes be announced?

• The Nobel Prize in Literature will be awarded on Thursday by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. Last year, Annie Ernaux was given the prize for work that dissected the most humiliating, private and scandalous moments from her past with almost clinical precision.

• The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. Last year, the prize was shared by Memorial, a Russian organization; the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine; and Ales Bialiatski, a jailed Belarusian activist.

• Next week, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be awarded on Monday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Last year, Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig shared the prize for work that helped to reshape how the world understands the relationship between banks and financial crises.

All of the prize announcements are streamed live by the Nobel Prize organization.