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• The Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2023 was shared by three scientists—Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov.

About Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2023

• Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2023 has been awarded for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.

What are quantum dots?

• Quantum dots are particles that are a few nanometres wide. 
• They exhibit unique optical properties due to their small physical size. 
  • Their structure and atomic composition are the same as bulk materials, but the properties of the latter don’t depend on their size.
• In fact, the properties of quantum dots can be changed by changing their size.

Applications of  Quantum Dots

• Quantum dots have the ability to convert a spectrum of light into different colors.
• They are also used to map biological tissues by biochemists.
• Quantum dots are also used in photovoltaic cells to improve the absorption and efficiency in converting solar light into electricity.
• Certain cancer treatments use quantum dots for targeted drug delivery and other therapeutic measures
• Quantum dots can be used as security markers on currency and documents as an anti-counterfeit measure. Broadly, they can be used as fluorescent markers to tag and track objects.

News Source: The Hindu