The discovery and synthesis of ‘quantum dots’: a milestone in the colourful future of nanoscience and technology

Journal title RENDICONTI
Author/s Alberto Bossi
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2025/2
Language Italian Pages 12 P. 123-134 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/rndoa2025oa21160
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On October 4, 2023, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Moungi G. Bawendi (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA), Louis E. Brus (Columbia University, New York, NY, USA), Aleksey Yekimov (Nanocrystals Technology Inc., New York, NY, USA) the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The three scientists, between the 80s and 90s of the last century, contributed to the study, reproducible synthesis, and development of quantum dots, QD, “planting the first seeds” that led to the flowering of the rich and colorful world of nanoscience. Their experimental results made it possible to verify the physical principles that bind quantum phenomena in nano objects. Thanks to their modular optical properties, QDs are now used by the electronics industry to generate the polychromatic light that is emitted by monitors and schematics of smart devices and TVs, while doctors and biochemists use them to map and follow the development of biological processes and tissue growth. These will be some of the aspects that will be covered during the seminar together with the more purely physical and chemical ones that regulate the properties of these fascinating nano-objects.

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Alberto Bossi, La scoperta e la sintesi dei “punti quantici”: una pietra miliare nel colorato futuro delle nanoscienze e della tecnologia in "RENDICONTI" 2/2025, pp 123-134, DOI: 10.3280/rndoa2025oa21160