Photo: 日本学士院 — Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
Ryoji Noyori
born 1938 · Japan · Born 1900–1939
Nobel Chemistry 2001
Developed chiral catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation, enabling efficient synthesis of single-handed molecules.
Nobel-winning work
For work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions. Noyori developed BINAP–ruthenium complexes that hydrogenate alkenes and ketones asymmetrically with very high enantioselectivity, producing one enantiomer almost exclusively. These catalysts became industrial methods of choice for chiral products such as the herbicide (S)-metolachlor and L-menthol.