Richard Heck,
2010 Nobel Prize for Chemistry passed way in Manila last October 10, 2015. Heck
discovered new ways to bind carbon atoms that were utilized in researches
ranging from curing cancer and the production of thin computer screens.
Heck Reaction
Before retiring
in the Philippines in 2006, Heck was a chemist and former professor at the
University of Delaware when he developed his work on palladium as a catalyst,
thus the “Heck Reaction” during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first
University of Delaware professor to win a Nobel Prize.
Heck worked for
the University of Delaware for 18 years and later became professor emeritus. It
was at the UD when he developed the process of palladium-catalyzed cross
couplings in organic synthesis. This resulted in the great strides in drug
development and DNA Sequencing. It continues to be used in pharmaceutical and
molecular research in the electronics industry and industrial applications such
as the manufacture or sunscreens and computer monitors.
Palladium-Catalyzed Cross Couplings
In an effort to improve
efficiency in industrial processes the yield must be maximized. Also in process
economics, the number steps must be minimized to reduce wastage and imrpve
process sustainability. Heck’s Reaction is a powerful tool which helps achieve
these objectives. In considering the Nobel Prize, there must be a real world
application of the discovery within 20-30 years
The applications
of this chemistry include the synthesis of hydrocarbons, conducting polymers,
light-emitting electrodes, active pharmaceutical ingredients and dyes. It can
also be used for the enantio-selective synthesis of natural products.
Richard Heck
(August 15, 1931
– October 10, 2015)
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