Quantum scale-up Developing sustainable quantum dots for industrial manufacturing
Cd ppm – the permissible exposure
. 005 limit for cadmium set by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Quantum scale-up Developing sustainable quantum dots for industrial manufacturing
It ’ s been quite the journey for nanomaterials pioneer Nanoco Technologies . From lab side-project to a global leader in the manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots , the company ’ s technology is set to play a big role in our lives in the next few years .
Quantum dots are tiny fluorescent semiconductors between 10 and 100 atoms in diameter . Nigel Pickett , co-founder of Nanoco Technologies , assures me that means they are about 1 / 1000th the width of a human hair . So , pretty small , then .
These miniscule particles can be designed so that when they are excited by an external light source , they absorb that energy and re-emit the light in a different colour depending on the size of the particle . By changing the size of the dot , its electronic properties change , and so the light emitted changes colour . There are a number of practical applications for this technology , including LCD displays , LED lighting , biological imaging and thin-film solar cells , all of which are fields of interest for Nanoco .
Dr Nigel Pickett CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER NANOCO TECHNOLOGIES
Nigel is co-founder of Nanoco and inventor of its key quantum dot scale up technology . Nigel has co-authored over 70 academic papers and is the named inventor on 150 patents
For LCD displays , Nanoco ’ s quantum dots are able to produce a broader range of colours and a more life-like image than current screens can provide . And , because they are cadmium-free , Nanoco ’ s products are proving irresistible to some of the biggest players in the global technology business , Pickett says .
“ Dow Chemical and Merck have both licensed our technology ,” he says . “ And the first products that use quantum dots are starting to appear in televisions and high-end display monitors . Most TVs are now based on LCD LEDs , and while LEDs are much more efficient than conventional light , the downside is that they don ’ t give you particularly good colour . By swapping out the phosphors used in LEDs for quantum dots , you can get the colour back into your TV screens .”
Dots on the side Nanoco Technologies originated at the University of Manchester in the 1990s , when Pickett was working for Professor Paul O ’ Brien .
As a side-project , Pickett developed a method to effectively scale up the synthesis of quantum dots . His ‘ molecular seeding ’ process avoided the need for high temperature nucleation , and meant that previously unimagined quantities of quantum dots , on the scale of grams and kilograms , were able to be produced effectively .
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