Ei-ichi Negishi (1935-2021)
Abstract
Ei-ichi Negishi, a groundbreaking chemist in the field of organometallic chemistry directed toward organic syntheses, died on 6 June at the age of 85. Negishi pioneered the use of transition metals to break and create covalent bonds. His technique using palladium to catalyze a general reaction, now known as the Negishi coupling, earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2010 (shared with Richard F. Heck and Akira Suzuki). This reaction of organozinc reagents with halocarbons revolutionized the syntheses of natural products, bioactive compounds, drug molecules, and molecules for materials sciences. He also pioneered the use of zirconium to form a carbon-carbon bond, break a carbon-carbon double or triple bond, and form a carbon-aluminum bond.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- July 2021
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.abk0608
- Bibcode:
- 2021Sci...373..400M