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ACS Award In Colloid & Surface Chemistry

Sponsored by Procter & Gamble

by Lauren K. Wolf
February 8, 2010 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 88, Issue 6

Bawendi
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Credit: Courtesy of Moungi Bawendi
Credit: Courtesy of Moungi Bawendi

According to a recent SciFinder search, Moungi G. Bawendi’s seminal paper—in which he and his students reported the first method for synthesizing quantum dots while simultaneously maintaining precise control over their size (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993, 115, 8706)—has been cited more than 3,000 times. “This publication represents the beginning of a whole new subfield of materials chemistry—the study of defined semiconductor nanocrystals,” says Timothy M. Swager, head of the chemistry department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Since publication of that groundbreaking work, Bawendi, 48, has not only accumulated an impressive citation record but also become a world leader in the investigation of quantum dots. During his time as a professor and investigator at MIT, he has developed techniques for assembling the tiny colloidal particles into superlattice structures and formulated robust chemical linkers to allow conjugation of biological species to the dots. He has also contributed to the development of a new type of semiconductor nanoparticle, one with a more stable core-shell configuration.

This quantum dot, a cadmium selenide nanocrystal encapsulated by some larger-band-gap material such as zinc sulfide, is “the hydrogen atom of the dots,” according to Bawendi. It’s the one “where we learned all the basic physics of quantum dots and where the chemistry is the most advanced,” he says, noting that, several years and numerous particle advances later, it’s still his favorite.

In addition to making these breakthroughs in semiconductor nanoparticle synthesis, Bawendi “elucidated the fundamental physical mechanisms for charge transport and a host of quantum phenomena in these systems in a torrent of spectacular papers over the past decade,” says Edwin L. Thomas, the Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at MIT. For instance, Bawendi and his collaborators were the first to observe and characterize the blinking phenomenon in quantum dots.

Born in Paris, Bawendi moved around with his family in his youth, living in Europe, North Africa, and the U.S., before settling in Indiana, where he attended high school. It was there that a teacher piqued his interest in chemistry. “He had a huge influence on my life,” Bawendi says.

His passion for quantum dots was not ignited, however, until after receiving both a bachelor’s degree in 1982 and master’s degree in 1983 from Harvard University. While at the University of Chicago, where he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry, Bawendi was awarded an AT&T Bell Labs summer fellowship. It was during this first encounter with Bell Labs that he met Louis E. Brus, the “father” of quantum dots. “That was the beginning,” Bawendi recalls. “The materials we were working with, these quantum dots—which were newly discovered—were really exciting.”

The innovative, eye-opening atmosphere at Bell Labs, Bawendi says, drew him back there in 1988 for a postdoc. In 1990, he joined the faculty at MIT, where he is currently the Lester Wolfe Professor in Chemistry.

Bawendi’s work has garnered countless awards, including the 2006 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in Materials Research from the Department of Energy. In 2007, he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bawendi will present the award address before the Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry.

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