The Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to three researchers based in the United States for their “fundamental discovery in the field of nanotechnology”

This price concerns a “fundamental discovery in the field of nanotechnology”. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers based in the United States, “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots”, Wednesday October 4. They are the Tunisian-American Moungi Bawendi, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the American Louis Brus (United States), from Columbia University, and the Russian Alexei Ekimov, who works for the company Nanocrystals Technology.

“The winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena”explains the Nobel Academy.

Televisions, solar panels and surgery

Quantum dots, also called quantum dots, are semiconductor nanocrystals, typically 2 to 10 nanometers in diameter. Capable of converting an incoming spectrum of light into a different energy frequency, they are used in modern LED television screens, in solar panels and in medical imaging, where they can notably guide surgeons in the ablation of tumors.

>> Nobel Prize: are you knowledgeable about the winners and their achievements?

The names of the winners were revealed by mistake by several Swedish media a few hours before their official proclamation. The leaking of Nobel names is rare, with the academies responsible for choosing the winners taking care to keep their debates secret. The list of nominees is also kept secret for 50 years.