Three scientists receive 2010 Chemistry Nobel

William Atkins
Thursday, 07 October 2010 22:48

Science - Biology

Wednesday, October 6, 2010, saw the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announce the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: It went to three scientists for their work in synthesizing complex carbon molecules; specifically, "for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis".

 

The three scientists sharing the $1.4 million Nobel Prize for Chemistry are:

'¢    Richard F. Heck (retired from the University of Delaware [while working at Hercules Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.], now living in the Philippines);

'¢    Ei-ichi Negishi (a chemistry professor at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A.); and

'¢    Akira Suzuki (a professor at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan).

Check out the Nobel Prize site: 'The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010: Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi, Akira Suzuki.'

Synthesizing complex carbon molecules is important for the manufacturing of medicines (used for cancers and other uses), agriculture (herbicides used to protect crops), and electronics, among other fields.

Specifically, the three men independently worked with the metal palladium during the 1960s and 70s. They used the metal as a catalyst to combine (bond) carbon molecules into more complex structures.

Page two continues.