Contemptuously | Quantum dots and what not to do

How do you explain quantum dots to the average student?

“I make the comparison with musical instruments, where longer strings on a guitar give a different tone than shorter guitar strings. Quantum dots are not strings, of course, but very small crystals of a certain material, such as materials containing cadmium. When you hit them, there is no sound, just a light. If you hit smaller and smaller crystals, the light shifts according to the colors of the rainbow, from red to blue. With musical instruments, you can generate a whole range of layers by adjusting the length or ‘size of the instrument, and we can make a whole range of colors by changing the size of the object, the nanocrystal. We can then mix those quantum dots to make any color spectrum.’

“If we want to encourage people to use less energy, we also have to give them a better product.”

What are the applications of quantum dots in daily life?

“Quantum dots are mainly used in displays, which makes them more energy efficient and better. They are better in the sense that they have a much wider color palette. A regular display produces white light, but to make colours, you have to be able to make red.” Quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are Quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, which are quantum dots, and they do this by blocking white light and only allowing a bit of blue, green, or red to pass through It can start emitting blue, green, or red light. And just that color. This allows us to create more colors and also makes the screen more energy efficient, because all the light has the right color at once. If we want to encourage people “In order to use less energy, we also have to give them a better product.”

“In a few years there will be an infrared detector in your smartphone.”

“We work with cameras that capture invisible light and can detect infrared light via sensors. This gives you a wider palette of colors that we can’t see with our eyes, but it provides chemical information. This can be important for many things. For example, it should The self-driving car is able to distinguish between a plastic bag and a stone on the road, which is not easy with visible light, but with infrared it is very easy. For example, if you as a consumer want to know if the fruit in the supermarket has expired “Already or bruised, this may be possible in a few years using a shortwave infrared detector built into your smartphone’s camera. Quantum dots can emit light, but the opposite is also possible. You can convert the light falling on them into an electrical voltage and identify them.”

How are quantum dots made?

“You have many options there. The quantum dots for which the Nobel Prize was awarded are so-called colloidal quantum dots, which are made as a kind of ink. In this case you want many very small crystals. An example of a crystal is table salt, which is composed of sodium and chlorine. Which are arranged in a very regular way. What matters with quantum dots is that you are also creating such a crystalline material, but on the nano scale. Another example is a snowflake. You are aiming to create so much as to make snowflakes from a certain amount of water and not snowflakes that consume All water. You often have competitions in which to form the largest crystal possible. We actually do the opposite and try to make as many very small crystals as possible. A nanocrystal is maybe ten or twenty atoms long, wide and deep. So you have an object where it should Arrange a total of 500 or 1,000 of those atoms. In the process of synthesis you have to make sure that you make a lot of seeds from such a crystal, but those germs cannot continue to grow. At first, maybe ten or twenty atoms clump together. Once that happens It is difficult for them to be allowed to grow any further. We don’t want it to be much larger than those dimensions, because then you get impacts.”

What exactly is your role in quantum dot research?

“We are developing new synthesis methods here, and we have achieved some effect. Most quantum dots are based on cadmium. They have a number of advantages, but cadmium is very toxic and is not used in the European Union. We have developed an alternative. In addition, we are doing a lot of work in The field of spectroscopy, where we study how quantum dots interact with light, how they absorb and radiate it back. Finally, we do a lot of work on light sources and infrared sensors. We develop and analyze ‘It’s based on quantum dots. “So we are experimenting with the entire process from synthesis to chemical and physical analyzes and ultimately use.”

A little bird whispered to us that you were an avid cyclist. What is your favorite route?

“My favorite route is central Italy. Campo Imperatore, which is a plateau in the Apennines, is my favorite place. It’s very beautiful there.”