The quantum dot story
By 
Julia Robinson2023-10-11T17:50:00
Julia Robinson explains how quantum dots went from a theoretical prediction to everyday reality and earned Alexei Ekimov, Louis Brus and Moungi Bawendi the 2023 Nobel prize in chemistry
When Alexei Ekimov, Louis Brus and Moungi Bawendi carried out their first work on quantum dots over 30 years ago, none of them anticipated the enormous impact these tiny crystals would have.
Their work, alongside others, was part of the birth of nanoscience and nanotechnology. And while quantum dots already have an array of applications – from QLED television displays to medical imaging – we are still just scratching the surface of their full potential.
In recognition of this, on 5 October 2023, Ekimov, Brus and Bawendi were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.
But their progress to get to that point was far from straightforward. It was many years after the nanoparticles were first discovered that they were able to be used, both in the lab and in commercial devices.