Ученый из России получил Нобелевскую премию по химии за открытие и синтез квантовых точек

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to scientist of Russian origin, Alexey Ekimov. He was awarded along with his US colleagues - Louis Bruce and Mungi Bavendi, for the discovery, study and synthesis of quantum dots.

Ekimov began his scientific research during the times of the USSR, he continued to work in Russia after the dissolution of the USSR. However, in 1999 he moved to the USA and studied the features of quantum dots there.

Quantum dots

Quantum dots are semiconductor nanoparticles, even smaller in size than an atom. They can be artificially created.

They do not have a nucleus, and the number of electrons can be changed by external influence through electromagnetic fields or by changing their growth conditions.

When radiating energy, the electron transitions to a lower energy level. Energy is emitted as light of a certain wavelength.

It turns out that when the size of the quantum dot changes, the energy of the electron and the color of the light emitted by it also change.

Ekimov was the first scientist in the world who, in 1981, based on the Soviet State Optical Institute named after Vavilov in Leningrad, was able to identify quantum dots and began studying their effects.

The scientist proved that they can affect the color change of glass. Later in the USA, Louis Bruce was the first in the world to prove the quantum effects of particles freely floating in liquids, and Mungi Bavendi was the first in the world to bring the chemical production of quantum dots to the perfect state.

Where quantum dots are needed

Quantum dots work in the displays of TVs, laptops and other devices, in modern LED lamps.

They are also used in medicine - with the help of quantum dots, for example, tumor tissues are marked for surgeons during operations.