Aleksey Yekimov
Facts
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin
Aleksey Yekimov
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023
Born: 1945, Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia)
Affiliation at the time of the award: Nanocrystals Technology Inc., New York, NY, USA
Prize motivation: “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots”
Prize share: 1/3
Work
When grains of matter become very small – when they shrink to nano-dimensions – quantum phenomena arise. Such particles are called quantum dots. In 1981, Aleksey Yekimov succeeded in creating size-dependent quantum effects in coloured glass. The colour came from nanoparticles of copper chloride and Yekimov demonstrated that the particle size affected the colour of the glass via quantum effects. Quantum dots are used in electronics, including computer and television screens as well as LED lamps. They can also be used to map biological tissue.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
