Chemistry at the Frontier of Quantum Technology

by Lekan Ajiboye

ComSciCon ACS 2025

When I tell people that I’m a PhD student studying chemistry with a focus on developing quantum technologies, I often see eyebrows raise in surprise. “Wait, isn’t that physics?” they always ask. At that moment, I find myself at the intersection of two worlds, ready to explain the essential synergy of disciplines that defines my research.

It’s a fair question, and one that is rooted in history. Quantum mechanics was developed in physics classrooms a century ago, and the field has progressed significantly, culminating in 2025 being celebrated worldwide as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. At its core, quantum mechanics speaks the language of physics, full of wave equations, uncertainty principles, and mathematical rules that describe how matter behaves when the ordinary laws of nature break down.

However, the quantum future isn’t just about equations; it’s about materials. Chemists identify, design, and synthesize the essential materials needed for functional quantum devices, such as the basic unit of a quantum computer (the qubit) and the specialized sensors that detect quantum signals. They develop new compounds, control the synthesis process, and refine their properties to ensure the stability and efficiency of quantum devices. Chemistry provides the innovative processes and foundational materials that make quantum advancement possible.

Chemistry at the Frontier of Quantum Technology

Quantum technologies refer to devices and systems that utilize quantum mechanics principles to perform tasks that are impossible or significantly more powerful than those achievable with classical technologies. While this field is often broadly categorized into four main areas, sensing, computing, communication, and imaging, the critical chemical contributions are most visible in material design.

Quantum Sensing

Take quantum sensing, where even the smallest magnetic or electric fields can be measured with remarkable precision. Many of the most well-known sensors rely on color centers, which are minute imperfections in a crystal created by the removal or replacement of an atom. These defects trap single electrons whose spin, like a microscopic magnetic needle, shifts in response to nearby electric or magnetic fields. By detecting changes in the light the defect emits, scientists can use these “spin probes” to map fields and forces with nanometer-scale precision.

Chemists are expanding this toolkit beyond the traditional nitrogen vacancy defects in diamond to include chemically synthesized nanocrystals with engineered defects. Recently, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania showed how chemistry can turn simple materials into highly effective quantum sensors. They created tiny crystals of zinc sulfide that emit a steady red glow when a few copper atoms are incorporated into the structure. This approach demonstrates how classic chemistry skills, such as controlling atomic substitution and surface treatment, are now being utilized to design entirely new quantum materials with tailored properties.

Quantum Computing

Quantum computing may seem abstract, but its power relies entirely on materials that chemists must construct with atomic precision. In a quantum computer, each qubit must hold fragile quantum information without letting it fade,  a stability known as coherence. This coherence is what keeps a quantum computer’s calculations on track. You can think of it like the rhythm in a song: if even one instrument drifts out of tune, the melody collapses.

For superconducting qubits, that rhythm depends on the purity and smoothness of the materials. A thin film of aluminum, only a few atoms thick, must be perfectly clean and evenly oxidized to prevent electrical signals from scattering. The tiniest imperfection, a stray atom or a rough surface, can throw the system off-beat and destroy coherence.

In new systems such as molecular qubits and quantum dots, chemists are designing quantum properties from the ground up by fine-tuning how electrons move and interact. Adjusting which molecules attach to a surface or how elements are combined helps dictate whether a quantum system maintains its delicate balance. These same techniques enable the development of hybrid materials that connect quantum particles with light, allowing quantum information to travel across chips.

Quantum Communication

Just as chemistry helps create and control qubits, it also determines how quantum information travels from one place to another. In quantum communication, data isn’t carried by electrical currents but by single photons, tiny packets of light that can encode quantum information. To keep that information intact, the materials guiding those photons must be extraordinarily pure and precisely engineered.

Chemists make this possible by designing low-loss optical materials such as ultra-pure glass fibers and silicon structures doped with rare-earth ions like erbium. These systems operate in the telecom band, the same wavelength range used for the global internet, where light can travel for kilometers through fiber without significant loss. In fact, studies have shown that individual erbium ions embedded in silicon nanophotonic devices can emit single photons at 1.5 microns, the telecom wavelength, paving the way for seamless integration with existing fiber networks.

Such breakthroughs bring us closer to a quantum internet, where information is transmitted securely using the laws of physics themselves. Chemistry sits at the heart of this progress, controlling impurities, tuning optical properties, and developing stable light-emitting materials that make long-distance quantum communication a practical reality.

Quantum Imaging

The same chemical control that stabilizes quantum devices also allows us to see the world in entirely new ways. In quantum imaging, scientists utilize single photons to capture details that far exceed the limits of traditional microscopes. These techniques can reveal the structure of living cells, map magnetic fields in materials, or even detect molecules that are invisible to classical light.

Chemistry drives these breakthroughs by providing the light-emitting molecules and nanocrystals that enable quantum imaging. For example, researchers at the University of Chicago are developing colloidal quantum dots with engineered shell compositions, such as gallium-rich indium gallium arsenide nanocrystals with zinc-based coatings. These carefully designed nanostructures let chemists precisely tune brightness, color, and stability, critical traits for quantum emitters that serve as imaging probes at the nanoscale.

By designing fluorescent molecules and quantum emitters with tunable optical properties, chemists are enabling quantum imaging to become a powerful tool for biomedicine, materials science, and environmental monitoring.

My Role in the Quantum Age

As a chemist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, my research focuses on synthesizing metal nanomaterials and semiconductor quantum dots with precise size, shape, and optical properties. I assemble them into hybrid nanostructures with organic molecules, enabling light and matter to couple into hybrid states called plasmon–exciton polaritons. These interactions, observed via a phenomenon called “Rabi splitting” in the optical spectrum, are key steps toward quantum devices that function reliably at room temperature, a long-held goal for scalable technology.

Whether guiding light across a chip, preserving quantum information in a device, or detecting single photons in a biological sample, chemistry plays a crucial role at every stage. Chemists design and engineer interfaces, precisely dope materials to alter properties, and build molecular scaffolds that stabilize quantum states. By controlling material purity, surface chemistry, and nanoscale interactions, they ensure quantum signals are preserved and manipulated accurately. Chemistry’s deep involvement blurs traditional lines between sensing, computing, and communication, and its expertise in these areas highlights its vital role in advancing quantum technologies.

Reflecting on these contributions, it’s natural to ask: If chemistry is so profoundly embedded in quantum technologies, why is it often overlooked? Part of the disconnect is cultural. For more than a century, quantum science has been publicly framed through the lens of physics, rooted in names like Einstein, Schrödinger, and Bohr, and in theories that describe how particles behave. This history shapes how people, and even students, imagine quantum work today. When most hear “quantum,” they picture equations, not materials; theorists, not chemists.

Inside universities, the same pattern persists. Physics courses focus on the mathematics of quantum mechanics. In contrast, chemistry focuses on reactions, materials, and synthesis, different languages describing the same world. Yet the success of quantum technologies and the development of a strong quantum workforce depend on bridging those worlds.

So the next time someone asks, “Isn’t that physics?” I’ll smile and answer, “Yes, and it’s chemistry that makes it work.” Every breakthrough in quantum technology depends on both the equations that predict what’s possible and the chemistry that turns those predictions into real materials. Recognizing that balance isn’t only about giving chemistry its due credit, it’s about inspiring the next generation of scientists to see how imagination and synthesis go hand in hand.

This idea is vital as we celebrate a century of quantum mechanics. It’s essential to disseminate knowledge of quantum science widely as we embark on the Second Quantum Revolution. The U.S. has recognized this, creating new programs from high school to postgraduate levels under the National Quantum Initiative Act. The National Science Foundation Center for the Integration of Optoelectronic Materials on Demand (IMOD), where I’m a fellow, connects material discovery to quantum advancements. It accomplishes this through its research, education, and outreach activities. The programs engage students and teachers with hands-on materials design, mentoring, and a new curriculum. By demonstrating how chemistry enables quantum technology, these programs help students understand that quantum work begins at the atomic and molecular levels. The next century will require scientists fluent in both materials and quantum computing. Chemists are ready to lead. Their expertise is crucial to the future of quantum technology, giving a new generation the chance to shape the next era of science.

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Oyelekan Ajiboye is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and a past fellow of the National Science Foundation Center for the Integration of Modern Optoelectronics Materials on Demand (IMOD-STC). His research explores how nanoscale materials can be engineered for quantum technologies. He is passionate about making complex science accessible and leads programs introducing high-school students and undergraduates to quantum science and nanomaterials research. Outside the lab, Lekan is building QUICKDx Inc., a medical-diagnostics startup developing rapid, nanomaterials-enabled point-of-care tests for diseases and allergies. He is committed to communicating science in ways that inspire curiosity, expand access, and empower future STEM leaders.