The Nobel Prize for Chemistry goes to the German Benjamin List and the British David MacMillan, “engineers” of molecules
The 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to the German Benjamin List and the British David MacMillan for developing a new technique for building molecules, known as “asymmetric organocatalysis”. According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the award, the two developed the technique independently in 2000.
Organocatalysis allows molecules to be combined together to obtain new ones, preventing contamination from occurring during the reaction. Thanks to this technique, which is respectful of the environment, as well as economic, it is possible to obtain new molecules of pharmacological interest, or new generation solar cells or more efficient batteries. A discovery that humanity “is already benefiting greatly,” said Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, a member of the committee that awarded the coveted prize.
BREAKING NEWS:
The 2021 #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to Benjamin List and David WC MacMillan “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.” pic.twitter.com/SzTJ2Chtge– The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2021
The winners will each receive a gold medal and share the prize of 10 million Swedish kronor (1 million euros). The one for physics is the third Nobel Prize to be awarded this year, after the one for physics which went yesterday to the Italian Giorgio Parisi together with the Japanese Syukuro Manabe and the German Klaus Hasselmann for their contributions to the study of the climate. On Monday the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries on receptors that allow you to perceive touch and temperature. Tomorrow and Friday the winners of the prizes for Literature and Peace will be announced, while next Monday 11 October it will be the turn of the prize for Economy.