Awarded the 17th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Prize in Basic Sciences, John Hartwig, chemist and researcher, explains that his group has developed new classes of reactions catalyzed by homogeneous catalysts and unraveled their mechanisms to make them faster, more selective, and industrially relevant.
His breakthroughs enable the formation of carbon–nitrogen bonds essential for pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and electronic components such as OLEDs used in mobile phones and televisions, and have contributed to drugs targeting depression, various types of cancer, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases.
Hartwig highlights that the future of catalysis lies in addressing the growing complexity of molecules for human health, combining chemical synthesis with biocatalysis using enzymes, and exploring processes to create or break down materials such as new plastics, with sign
Awarded the 17th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Prize in Basic Sciences, John Hartwig, chemist and researcher, explains that his group has developed new classes of reactions catalyzed by homogeneous catalysts and unraveled their mechanisms to make them faster, more selective, and industrially relevant.
His breakthroughs enable the formation of carbon–nitrogen bonds essential for pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and electronic components such as OLEDs used in mobile phones and televisions, and have contributed to drugs targeting depression, various types of cancer, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases.
Hartwig highlights that the future of catalysis lies in addressing the growing complexity of molecules for human health, combining chemical synthesis with biocatalysis using enzymes, and exploring processes to create or break down materials such as new plastics, with significant medical and environmental applications.
The 17th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences went to Avelino Corma, John F. Hartwig and Helmut Schwarz for fundamental advances in the catalysis field, in the words of the committee, that have made it possible to “control and accelerate chemical reactions” and obtain products across multiple industrial processes, thereby “improving efficiency and reducing energy consumption.”
00:00 Introduction
00:04 Professor Hartwig, could you explain what your fundamental contributions have been to the field of catalysis and how they have helped to control and accelerate chemical reactions in a more efficient manner?
00:59 What industrial applications have already been developed as a result of your research?
02:28 What future developments in your field would you hope to see and how can your research help enable them?
