- Born:
- August 7, 1964, Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S. (age 62)
- Subjects Of Study:
- organic synthesis
John F. Hartwig
-
Who is John F. Hartwig?
John F. Hartwig (born in Elmhurst, Illinois, on August 7, 1964) is an American chemist celebrated for his contributions to organic synthesis. Originally intending to study electrical engineering, Hartwig switched to chemistry, earning a bachelorâs degree in chemistry from Princeton University in 1986 and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990.
Hartwig's work was influenced by chemists Richard F. Heck, Negishi Ei-ichi, and Suzuki Akira. Inspired by Toshihiko Migita and Masanori Kosugi, Hartwig discovered the Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction, also discovered independently by Stephen L. Buchwald. This reaction uses a palladium atom with a phosphine ligand as a catalyst to form a carbon-nitrogen bond and is important in manufacturing drugs for lung cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Awards include the Centenary Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018), the Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry (2018), and the Wolf Prize (2019, with Buchwald).
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is John F. Hartwig known for in chemistry?
John F. Hartwig, born on August 7, 1964, is an American chemist notable for his contributions to organic synthesis. His work extends the research of Richard F. Heck, Negishi Ei-ichi, and Suzuki Akira, who used palladium, zinc, and boron as catalysts in the synthesis of organic molecules.
Hartwig discovered the Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction, using a palladium atom with a phosphine ligand as a catalyst to form a carbon-nitrogen bond. This reaction is significant in manufacturing drugs for conditions like lung cancer and autoimmune diseases. Hartwig and his collaborators have also extensively studied the functionalization of CâH bonds, enabling the assembly and synthesis of complex organic molecules.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What type of research does John F. Hartwig do?
John F. Hartwig is an American chemist notable for his contributions to organic synthesis. His research involved extending the work of Richard F. Heck, Negishi Ei-ichi, and Suzuki Akira, who used palladium, zinc, and boron as catalysts in the synthesis of organic molecules.
Hartwig discovered the Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction, using a palladium atom with a phosphine ligand as the catalyst to form a carbon-nitrogen bond. This reaction is significant in manufacturing drugs for conditions like lung cancer and autoimmune diseases. Hartwig has also worked extensively on the functionalization of CâH bonds, replacing a carbon-hydrogen bond with a functional group.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the Hartwig-Buchwald amination reaction?
The Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction is a chemical reaction where a palladium atom with a phosphine ligand acts as the catalyst to create a carbon-nitrogen bond. American chemists John F. Hartwig and Stephen L. Buchwald discovered it independently in the 1990s, inspired by earlier research using palladium as a catalyst in organic synthesis. The pharmaceutical industry's need to form carbon-nitrogen bonds spurred Buchwald to study this process. This reaction is significant in manufacturing drugs for conditions like lung cancer and autoimmune diseases.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does John F. Hartwigâs work benefit medicine or technology?
John F. Hartwig is an American chemist noted for his contributions to organic synthesis. His discovery of the Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction, which uses palladium as a catalyst to form carbon-nitrogen bonds, has significantly impacted the manufacturing of drugs for conditions like lung cancer and autoimmune diseases. Additionally, Hartwig's work on the functionalization of carbon-hydrogen bonds allows for the assembly and synthesis of complex organic molecules.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What awards or recognition has John F. Hartwig received for his scientific contributions?
John F. Hartwig is an American chemist celebrated for his contributions to organic synthesis, particularly the Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction, which has applications in drug manufacturing. Among the awards and recognition Hartwig has received are:
* Centenary Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018)
* Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry (2018)
* Wolf Prize (2019, with Buchwald)He is also the author of Organotransition Metal Chemistry: From Bonding to Catalysis (2010).
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
John F. Hartwig (born August 7, 1964, Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.) is an American chemist known for his work in organic synthesis.
When Hartwig entered college, he originally wanted to study electrical engineering, but he changed his major to chemistry after taking his first class in the subject. He graduated with a bachelorâs degree in chemistry from Princeton University in 1986. Four years later he received a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.
From 1990 to 1992 Hartwig had a postdoctoral fellowship, which was sponsored by the American Cancer Society, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He joined the faculty at Yale University as an associate professor in 1992 and became a full professor in 1998. In 2006 he moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and in 2011 to the University of California at Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Hartwigâs advances in organic synthesis came from extending the work of American chemist Richard F. Heck and Japanese chemists Negishi Ei-ichi and Suzuki Akira. In 1968 Heck used palladium as a catalyst in the synthesis of organic molecules. A carbon atom in an organic molecule binds to a palladium atom; when a carbon atom from another organic molecule binds to the palladium atom, the carbon atoms bind to each other, ejecting the palladium and forming a new molecule. Negishi and Suzuki achieved similar results by using zinc and boron, respectively, as catalysts instead of palladium. (Heck, Negishi, and Suzuki were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work.)
In the 1990s Hartwig was inspired by work done in the 1980s by Japanese chemists Toshihiko Migita and Masanori Kosugi, who also had found that palladium could be used as a catalyst in organic synthesis. The result for Hartwig was the discovery of the Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reaction, in which a palladium atom with a phosphine ligand serves as the catalyst of a reaction that ends with the formation of a carbon-nitrogen bond. (The reaction is so named because American chemist Stephen L. Buchwald worked in this field at the same time but independently of Hartwig.) The Buchwald-Hartwig reaction has played an important part in manufacturing drugs to treat such conditions as lung cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Hartwig and his collaborators have also done extensive work on the functionalization of CâH bonds, in which a simple bond between a carbon atom and a hydrogen atom is replaced with a functional group. In 2012 American chemist Eric M. Simmons and Hartwig published work in which they used a catalyst containing iridium to functionalize one specific bond, which allows for easy assembly and synthesis of complex organic molecules.
Hartwig has been honored with the Centenary Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018), the Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry (2018), and the Wolf Prize (2019, with Buchwald). He is the author of Organotransition Metal Chemistry: From Bonding to Catalysis (2010).
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
