A prominent scientist who received the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on palladium cross couplings in organic synthesis has spoken at a symposium on synthesis held by the University of Delaware (UD).

Professor Richard F Heck jointly received the honour along with Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki after discovering one of the important chemical reactions used in industry.

In the Heck Reaction, palladium is used as a catalyst to get carbon atoms to link up. The discovery progressed the field of organometallic chemistry, and today more than one-third of chemical reactions in pharmaceuticals are based on palladium.

"Your transformational influence on pharmaceutical development, electronics manufacture, innovative energy technologies, DNA sequencing, disease research and more has sealed your place among history's most important chemists," said UD president Patrick Harker, speaking at the UD symposium.

Professor Heck's work also led to a number of other palladium-catalysed coupling reactions, such as the Stille coupling and the Kumada-Corriu coupling.

Sources:

Nobel prize winner honored (27/05/11)
The 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Palladium-Catalysed Cross-Coupling

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