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Interview with NANOCO

A person wearing glasses and a black shirt AI-generated content may be incorrect.Ahead of Phosphors & Quantum Dots Industry Forum, we spoke with Nigel Pickett, Co-Founder at Nanoco Technologies, to get a sneak peek of what we can expect from his presentation on ‘Molecular Seeding Technology: Enabling Applications in Display and Beyond’.

Here's what he had to say...


Q1: You will share the topic “Molecular Seeding Technology: Enabling Applications in Display and Beyond” with us this October in Seoul, Could you tell us a bit more about why you chose to tackle this topic?
Nanoco's molecular seeding technology has been fundamental to its development of quantum dots for a variety of applications since the company's inception in 2001. Prior to then, the main method to prepare semiconductor QDs was classical colloid chemistry of controlled or arrested nanocrystal precipitation from precursor solutions. Typically, separate elemental precursors needed to form a compound semiconductor were rapidly injected into a reaction flask to achieve rapid homogeneous nucleation of semiconductor nanocrystals. These “dual injection” methods work well for small-scale synthesis where one solution can be added rapidly to another while maintaining a constant temperature throughout the reaction. On a larger scale, rapid injection of large solution volumes into one another results in temperature differentials and culminates in broad
particle size distributions. Nanoco's molecular seeding methodology therefore enabled reproducible routes to larger quantities of crystalline, narrow size-dispersity, stable QDs. The method works well for many types of material systems, including III-V quantum dots that, due to the covalent nature of the bonding, can be challenging to synthesise by dual injection methods. The technology has been licensed to a number of customers.

Q2. Do you see this technology accelerating the adoption of cadmium-free quantum dots in high-volume display applications?
Nanoco pioneered the cadmium-free quantum dot market while other companies were still very much focussed on cadmium, motivated by regulations such as the RoHS Directive and also customer demand. Some years ago, we carried out a survey of adults in the US, Britain and Germany that found that consumers were willing to select products for their homes based on the absence of cadmium. This is supported by the success of Samsung (which has licensed Nanoco's technology), which has dominated the quantum dot display market with its cadmium-free quantum dot TVs. 

Q3. The title of your talk mentions “beyond” displays. What other application areas (e.g., medical imaging, sensing, solar, lighting) do you see as most promising for molecular seeding technology?
The versatility of the molecular seeding process means that it can be used to make many different types of quantum dot materials for a variety of applications. One such application is image sensing, where materials such as indium arsenide and indium antimonide may pave the way for relatively low cost sensors for consumer electronics and automotive products. Another exciting area is next-generation quantum technologies, where singly-doped quantum dots may enable future technologies such as quantum telecommunications and quantum computing. 

Q4. What are you most looking forward to at the Phosphors & Quantum Dots Industry Forum?
We are looking forward to engaging with the quantum dot community and finding out about cutting edge technologies.