Chemistry Nobel Prize: Quantum Rules Provide Controllable Colors

T he 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Alexei Ekimov of Nanocrystals Technology in New York, Louis Brus of Columbia University, and Moungi Bawendi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for their work on the development of nanoscale particles known as quantum dots: specks of matter so small that quantum effects make their size rather than their chemical composition the key determinant of their electronic and optical behavior. The award has left somemischievously asking if it is for chemistry or for physics. In fact, it’s a bit of both: quantum physics is needed to understand the properties of quantum dots, while ingenious chemistry is needed to make them.