On Oct. 4, 2023, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Aleksey Yekimov “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.”

Everyone who studies chemistry learns that an element’s properties are governed by how many electrons it has. However, when matter shrinks to nano-dimensions quantum phenomena arise; these are governed by the size of the matter.

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.