The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded Wednesday to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so small that their size determines their properties.
Quantum dots, described by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as the “smallest components of nanotechnology,” are used in LED lights and television screens and can help surgeons remove cancerous tissue.
“For a long time no one would have thought that such small particles could ever be made,” Johan Aqvist, chairman of the academy’s Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said at a press conference to announce the 2023 laureates. He presented the theme with five colorful bottles lined up in front of him , which he said contained quantum dots in a liquid solution, and said, “But this year’s winners succeeded.”
News of the prize winners’ expected victory had been reported in the Swedish news media early Wednesday morning, a highly unusual leak then reported by Portal and The Associated Press several hours before the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences officially announced the prize .
Swedish news agencies cited an email from the academy that they said was mistakenly sent too early. Portal quoted Dr. Aqvist said: “It is a mistake by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.” He pointed out that the committee meeting was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Eastern time), adding: “It So no decision has been made yet. The winners have not yet been decided.”
Who are the winners?
Dr. Bawendi is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Brus is Professor Emeritus at Columbia University and Dr. Ekimov works for Nanocrystals Technology, a company based in New York state.
Why did the committee say it received the award?
The award winners were all pioneers in the study of the nanoworld – where the size of matter is measured in millionths of a millimeter, the committee said. Their work allowed humanity to exploit some of the special properties of the nanoworld, they said.
In the early 1980s, Dr. Brus and Dr. Ekimov independently quantum dots. In 1993, Dr. Bawendi developed the methods for producing quantum dots and made their quality “extremely high” – a crucial requirement for their use in today’s nanotechnology, the committee said.
For quantum dots to be extremely useful, Dr. Aqvist can be prepared in solution “with excellent control of its size and surface area”. Dr. Bawendi, he said, had invented an ingenious chemical method “to do just that.”
“He was now able to produce perfect nanoparticles of a very specific size and very high quality,” said Dr. Aqvist.
“These successes represent an important milestone in nanotechnology,” said Dr. Aqvist added that there are now numerous applications for quantum dots, from QLED screens to imaging in biochemistry, medicine and much more.
How do your colleagues describe your work?
“The recognition of this work on quantum dots is truly exciting,” Gill Reid, president of Britain’s Royal Society of Chemistry, said in a statement. “And shows how chemistry can be used to solve a wide range of challenges.”
She added that the “remarkable nanoparticles” had enormous potential to “create smaller, faster and smarter devices that increase the efficiency of solar panels and the brilliance of your television screen.”
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 won a Nobel Prize in science this year?
On Monday, the prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for a chemical modification of messenger RNA. The optimization led to the successful development of Covid-19 vaccines and saved millions of lives. Dr. Karikó is the 13th woman to receive 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 shed light on the subatomic realm of electrons. Dr. L’Huillier is the fifth woman to be selected for a Nobel Prize in this category.
When will the other Nobel Prizes be announced?
The Nobel Prize for Literature will be awarded by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday. Last year, Annie Ernaux won the prize for a work that analyzed with almost clinical precision the most humiliating, private and scandalous moments of her past.
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, an imprisoned Belarusian activist.
Next week, the Nobel 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 reshape the world’s understanding of the relationship between banks and financial crises.
All prize announcements will be streamed live by the Nobel Prize Organization.