is a Japanese chemist and
Nobel Prize Laureate (2010), who first published the
Suzuki reaction
The Suzuki reaction or Suzuki coupling is an organic reaction that uses a palladium complex catalyst to cross-couple a boronic acid to an organohalide. It was first published in 1979 by Akira Suzuki, and he shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemi ...
, the
organic reaction
Organic reactions are chemical reactions involving organic compounds. The basic organic chemistry reaction types are addition reactions, elimination reactions, substitution reactions, pericyclic reactions, rearrangement reactions, mechanistic organ ...
of an
aryl
In organic chemistry, an aryl is any functional group or substituent derived from an aromatic ring, usually an aromatic hydrocarbon, such as phenyl and naphthyl. "Aryl" is used for the sake of abbreviation or generalization, and "Ar" is used ...
- or
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
-
boronic acid with an aryl- or vinyl-
halide
In chemistry, a halide (rarely halogenide) is a binary chemical compound, of which one part is a halogen atom and the other part is an element or radical that is less electronegative (or more electropositive) than the halogen, to make a fl ...
catalyzed by a
palladium(0) complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
, in 1979.
Early life and education
Suzuki was born on September 12, 1930, in
Mukawa, Hokkaidō, his father died when he was in high school. He studied chemistry at
Hokkaido University
, or , is a public research university in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Founded in 1918, it is the fifth-oldest government-authorised university in Japan and one of the former Imperial Universities.
The university finds its roots in Sapporo A ...
(Hokudai) and after receiving his
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
while he worked there as assistant professor. He initially wanted to major in
mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
, as his favorite subject in childhood was
arithmetic
Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms.
...
.
[『朝日小学生新聞』2010年10月8日] It was an encounter with two books that became an opportunity to advance to the path of
organic synthesis
Organic synthesis is a branch of chemical synthesis concerned with the construction of organic compounds. Organic compounds are molecules consisting of combinations of covalently-linked hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Within the gen ...
, one is ''Textbook of Organic Chemistry'' written by
Louis Fieser of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, and another is ''Hydroboration'' written by
Herbert C. Brown of
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
.
[
]
Career
From 1963 until 1965, Suzuki worked as a postdoctoral student with Herbert C. Brown at Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
and after returning to the Hokudai he became a full professor there. The postdoctoral experience was utilized in the study of the coupling reaction
In organic chemistry, a coupling reaction is a type of reaction in which two reactant molecules are bonded together. Such reactions often require the aid of a metal catalyst. In one important reaction type, a main group organometallic compound o ...
with his assistant Norio Miyaura and led to the discovery of Suzuki reaction
The Suzuki reaction or Suzuki coupling is an organic reaction that uses a palladium complex catalyst to cross-couple a boronic acid to an organohalide. It was first published in 1979 by Akira Suzuki, and he shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemi ...
announced in 1979. Its organic boronic acids with aryl
In organic chemistry, an aryl is any functional group or substituent derived from an aromatic ring, usually an aromatic hydrocarbon, such as phenyl and naphthyl. "Aryl" is used for the sake of abbreviation or generalization, and "Ar" is used ...
and vinyl group are stable to water and air, easy to handle, and because the conditions required for use are also relatively mild, even among the several cross-coupling techniques, it is said to be easy to use. Its full mechanism is shown in the image below.
With his retirement from Hokudai in 1994 he took several positions in other universities: 1994–1995 Okayama University of Science and 1995–2002 Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts. In addition, he was an invited professor at Purdue University (2001), Academic Sinica and the National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...
(2002).
In 2010, Suzuki was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
together with Richard F. Heck and Ei-ichi Negishi
was a Japanese chemist who was best known for his discovery of the Negishi coupling. He spent most of his career at Purdue University in the United States, where he was the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor and the director of the Negi ...
.
To celebrate International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011), Suzuki was interviewed by the ''UNESCO Courier
''UNESCO Courier'' is the main magazine published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It has the largest and widest-ranging readership of all the journals published by the United Nations and its spe ...
'' magazine, he said:
Today some people see chemistry just as a polluting industry, but that is a mistake ... Without it, productivity would drop and we could not enjoy the life we know today. If there is pollution, it is because we are releasing harmful substances. Obviously, we have to adapt treatment and management regimes and work to develop chemical substances and manufacturing processes that respect the environment.
In 2014, a Canadian-Chinese student asked for Suzuki's advice: "how can I become a great chemist like you?", Suzuki answered him: "... above all else, you must learn to see through the appearance to perceive the essence."
Invention without patent
Suzuki has not obtained a patent on Suzuki reaction
The Suzuki reaction or Suzuki coupling is an organic reaction that uses a palladium complex catalyst to cross-couple a boronic acid to an organohalide. It was first published in 1979 by Akira Suzuki, and he shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemi ...
technology because he thinks that the research was supported by government funds, therefore coupling technology has become widespread, and many products using this technology have been put into practical use. To date, there are more than 6,000 papers and patents related to Suzuki reaction.[『朝日新聞』2010年10月7日]
Recognition
The asteroid 87312 Akirasuzuki was named after Professor Suzuki.
*1986 – Weissberger-Williams lectureship Award
*1987 – Korean Chemical Society Award
*1989 – Chemical Society of Japan Award
*1995 – DowElanco lectureship Award
*2000 – The H. C. Brown Lecture Award
*2003 – Japan Academy Prize
*2009 – Paul Karrer Gold Medal
The Paul Karrer Gold Medal and Lecture is awarded annually or biennially by the University of Zurich to an outstanding researcher in the field of chemistry. It was established in 1959 by a group of leading companies, including CIBA AG, J.R. Gei ...
*2009 – Special Member of Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...
(RSC)
*2010 – Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
*2010 – 
Order of Culture
The is a Japanese Order (decoration), order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japanese Art, Japan's art, Japanese Literature, literature, science, technolog ...
*2010 – Person of Cultural Merit
is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...
*2011 – Member of the Japan Academy
The Japan Academy ( Japanese: 日本学士院, ''Nihon Gakushiin'') is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is ...
*2011 – honored on a stamp issued by Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
*2016 – Honorary chair professorship, National Cheng Kung University
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU; ) is a Public university, public research university located in the East District, Tainan, East District of Tainan, Taiwan. Founded in 1931 during Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese rule as an engineering ...
See also
* List of Japanese Nobel laureates
* Richard F. Heck
*Ei-ichi Negishi
was a Japanese chemist who was best known for his discovery of the Negishi coupling. He spent most of his career at Purdue University in the United States, where he was the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor and the director of the Negi ...
*Makoto Kumada
was a Japanese chemist and was a Professor of Chemistry first at Osaka City University until his retirement in 1983 at Kyoto University in Japan. In 1972, Kumada's group reported nickel-catalyzed cross coupling reactions nearly concurrently wit ...
*Kenkichi Sonogashira
is a Japanese chemist and was a professor of chemistry at Osaka University in Japan. He discovered the Sonogashira coupling in 1975. Sonogashira was later a professor at Osaka City University and retired in 2004.
See also
* Richard F. Heck
* ...
References
External links
*Akira Suzuk
"Letter to a young chemist"
i
''The UNESCO Courier''
"CHEMISTRY AND LIFE", January–March 2011
*
press release
* ttp://www.chem-station.com/en/?p=752 Akira Suzuki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Akira
Japanese organic chemists
Japanese Nobel laureates
1930 births
Living people
Scientists from Hokkaido
Nobel laureates in Chemistry
Recipients of the Order of Culture
Hokkaido University alumni
Academic staff of Hokkaido University
20th-century Japanese chemists
21st-century Japanese chemists