Richard F. Heck

Richard F. Heck
Heck in 2010
Born
Richard Frederick Heck

(1931-08-15)August 15, 1931
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedOctober 9, 2015(2015-10-09) (aged 84)
Manila, Philippines
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUCLA (BS, PhD)
Known forHeck reaction
SpouseSocorro Nardo-Heck (died 2012)
AwardsGlenn T. Seaborg Medal (2011)
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2010)
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Delaware
Hercules
ETH Zurich
De La Salle University
ThesisMethoxyl and aryl groups in substitution and rearrangement (1955)
Doctoral advisorSaul Winstein

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.

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]

  1. ^ Press release 6 October 2010, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, retrieved October 6, 2010