Over the last decade-plus, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded several Nobel Prizes for groundbreaking research in nanomaterials.

In 2023, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to a trio of scientists for the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties. Quantum dots now illuminate computer monitors and television screens based on QLED technology. They also add depth to the light of some LED lamps, and biochemists and doctors use them to map biological tissue.