Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023: Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus & Alexei Ekimov win award for discovery of quantum dots

The Nobel Prize 2023 in Chemistry has been awarded to Moungi G Bawendi, Louis E Brus and Alexei I Ekimov "for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.”

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that the award rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties.

“The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology,” it said.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is the third award to be granted this week. On Tuesday, France's Pierre Agostini, Hungarian-Austrian Ferenc Krausz and Franco-Swede Anne L'Huillier won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Prior to that, Hungarian scientist Katalin Kariko and her American colleague Drew Weissman were awarded the Nobel Medicine Prize.

The Chemistry prize will be followed by the highly watched awards in Literature, Peace and Economics to be announced on October 5, 6 and 9.

Earlier today, Swedish media reported that the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences may have announced the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry prematurely. Public broadcaster SVT said the academy sent a press release by mistake early Wednesday that contained the names of the winners.

The Nobel Prizes are awarded in the memory of inventor Alfred Nobel, who in his will dictated that his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind."

In 1968, Sweden's central bank introduced the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

The Nobel laureates for these esteemed awards are unveiled in Stockholm throughout October, with the exception of the Peace Prize, which is determined by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.

Last year winners

In 2022, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Carolyn R Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K Barry Sharpless for the development of click and bioorthogonal chemistry.

“This year’s Prize in Chemistry deals with not overcomplicating matters, instead working with what is easy and simple. Functional molecules can be built even by taking a straightforward route,” Johan Åqvist, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry had said.

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