Richard f heck biography of alberta

American chemist (1931–2015)

Richard Frederick Heck (August 15, 1931 – October 9, 2015) was an American chemist noted for the discovery and development of the Heck reaction, which uses palladium to catalyze organic chemical reactions that couple aryl halides with alkenes.

The analgesic naproxen is an example of a compound that is prepared industrially using the Heck reaction.

Richard f heck biography of alberta

For his work in palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions and organic synthesis, Heck was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with the Japanese chemists Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki.^[1]

Early life and education

Heck was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1931.^[2] He moved to Los Angeles when eight years old and later attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), gaining a bachelor's degree in 1952 and then a Ph.D.

in 1954 working under the supervision of Saul Winstein on the chemistry of aryl sulfonates. After postdoctoral research