Richard R. Schrock

Richard Royce Schrock (born January 4, 1945) is an American chemist and Nobel laureate recognized for his contributions to the olefin metathesis reaction used in organic chemistry.[3][4]

Richard R. Schrock
Richard Schrock during the Opening Ceremony of 44th International Chemistry Olympiad (2012)
Born
Richard Royce Schrock

(1945-01-04) January 4, 1945
Berne, Indiana, United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
Known for
Spouse
Nancy Carlson
​
(m. 1971)​
Children2
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
Institutions
ThesisSynthesis and study of some Group VIII transition metal catalysts (1972)
Doctoral advisorJohn A. Osborn (fr)
Other academic advisorsJack Lewis (post doctoral)
Doctoral studentsChristopher C. Cummins
Websiteweb.mit.edu/rrs/www/home.html

Education

Born in Berne, Indiana, Schrock went to Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California. He holds a B.A. (1967) from the University of California, Riverside and a Ph.D. (1971) from Harvard University[5] under the direction of John A. Osborn (fr).[6]

Career

Following his PhD, Schrock carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge with Jack Lewis. In 1972, he was hired by DuPont, where he worked at the Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware in the group of George Parshall. He joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975 and became full professor in 1980.[7]

He has been the Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry, at MIT since 1989, and is now Professor Emeritus. Schrock is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences and was elected to the Board of Overseers of Harvard University in 2007.

He is co-founder and member of the board of a Swiss-based company, XiMo, inc., now owned by Verbio, AG, which is focused on the development and application of proprietary metathesis catalysts.[8]

In 2018, Schrock joined the faculty of his alma mater, the University of California, Riverside, where he is now the Distinguished Professor and George K. Helmkamp Founder's Chair of Chemistry. He cited his interest in mentoring junior faculty and students. “My experience as an undergraduate at UCR in research in the laboratory of James Pitts and the quality of the classes in chemistry prepared me for my Ph.D. experience at Harvard.  I look forward to returning to UCR for a few years to give back some of what it gave to me,” Schrock said.[9]

Research

In 1974 Schrock discovered the alpha hydrogen abstraction reaction, which creates alkylidene complexes from alkyls and alkylidyne complexes from alkylidenes. At MIT Schrock was the first to elucidate the structure and mechanism of so-called 'black box' olefin metathesis catalysts. He showed that the alpha abstraction reaction could be used to prepare molybdenum or tungsten alkylidene and alkylidyne complexes in large variety through ligand variations. Catalysts could then be designed at a molecular level for a given purpose. Schrock has done much work to demonstrate that metallacyclobutanes are the key intermediates in olefin metathesis, while metallacyclobutadienes are the key intermediates in alkyne metathesis. Projects outside of metathesis include elucidating the mechanism of dinitrogen fixation and developing single molecule catalysts which form ammonia from dinitrogen, mimicking the activity of nitrogenase enzymes in biology.[10][11][12][13]

Many supporting ligands have been explored in efforts to better understand the nature of the single molecule catalysts, most notably 2,6-diisopropylphenylimido and adamantylimido, as well as various tert-butyl alkoxides with varying degrees of fluorination. The prototypical Schrock catalyst is (R"O)2(R'N)Mo(CHR) where R = tert-butyl, R' = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl, and R" = C(Me)(CF3)2. Such catalysts are now commercially available from such major suppliers as Sigma-Aldrich and XiMo, inc., which is now owned by Verbio, AG, and are used frequently in synthetic applications of olefin metathesis in the laboratory and on a commercial scale. Schrock's work is ongoing with goals of furthering the understanding of metathesis selectivity, developing new catalyst architectures, and elucidating how alkylidenes and alkylidynes are formed naturally from olefins.

Awards and honors

Nobel Prize

In 2005, Schrock received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, with Robert H. Grubbs and Yves Chauvin, for his work in the area of olefin metathesis, an organic synthesis technique. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Schrock has won numerous awards including:

  • ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry (1985)[14]
  • Harrison Howe Award of the Rochester ACS section (1990)[15]
  • Alexander von Humboldt Award (1995)[16]
  • ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry (1996)[17]
  • Bailar Medal from the University of Illinois (1998)[18]
  • ACS Cope Scholar Award (2001)[19]
  • Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Lecturer and Medalist (2002)[20]
  • Sir Edward Frankland Prize Lecturer (2004)[21]
  • F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry (2006)[22]
  • Theodore Richards Medal from the Northeast ACS section (2006)[23]
  • August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal from the German Chemical Society (2005)
  • Basolo Medal (2007)[1]
  • Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 2008.[2]
  • Chemistry library at the University of Sussex named in his honour (2013)
  • Schrock carbenes are named in his honour

Personal life

Schrock married Nancy Carlson in 1971 and has two children, Andrew and Eric. Nancy Schrock was the Thomas F. Peterson Jr. Conservator of Special Collections for the MIT Libraries from 2006 to 2013.[24] The family lives in Winchester, Massachusetts.[7]

References
  1. American Chemical Society. Membership.acs.org. Retrieved on January 4, 2013.
  2. "Fellows of the Royal Society". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015.
  3. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005". Nobelprize.org.
  4. Mansuy, Daniel (2005). "Métathèse et catalyse à l'honneur". Médecine/Sciences. 21 (11): 995–997. doi:10.1051/medsci/20052111995. ISSN 0767-0974. PMID 16274653.
  5. Schrock, Richard Royce (1972). Synthesis and study of some Group VIII transition metal catalysts (Ph.D.). Harvard University. OCLC 76998410 – via ProQuest.
  6. Trafton, Anne (February 16, 2018). "A lifelong search for new catalysts: Richard Schrock, trailblazer in organometallic chemistry, delivers annual Killian Lecture". MIT News Office.
  7. Richard R. Schrock on Nobelprize.org , accessed 11 October 2020
  8. Website von Ximo AG. Ximo-inc.com. Retrieved on January 4, 2013.
  9. "Nobel Prize Winner to Join UC Riverside Faculty". UCR Today. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  10. Schrock, R. R. "Reduction of Carbon Monoxide. Past Research Summary", Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States Department of Energy, (1982).
  11. Schrock, R. R. "Chemistry of Bimetallic Linked Cyclopentadienyl Complexes: Progress Report, December 1, 1986 --November 30, 1989", Department of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States Department of Energy, (1989).
  12. Schrock, R. R. "Controlled Synthesis of Polyenes by Catalytic Methods. Progress Report, December 1, 1989 – November 30, 1992", Department of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States Department of Energy, (1992).
  13. Schrock, R. R. "Controlled Synthesis of Polyenes by Catalytic Methods. Progress Report, December 1, 1992 – November 30, 1993", Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States Department of Energy, (December 1993).
  14. ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry. Portal.acs.org. Retrieved on January 4, 2013. Archived February 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  15. The Harrison Howe Award – Past Recipients. Chem.rochester.edu. Retrieved on January 4, 2013.
  16. Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation – 21 – Chemistry Nobel Prize for two Humboldtians. Humboldt-stiftung.de. Retrieved on January 4, 2013.
  17. ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry. Portal.acs.org. Retrieved on January 4, 2013. Archived February 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  18. Bailar Medalists / Chemistry at Illinois Archived July 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Chemistry.illinois.edu. Retrieved on January 4, 2013.
  19. Arthur C. Cope Scholar Awards Archived August 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Portal.acs.org (September 13, 2012). Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  20. RSC Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Award Previous Winners. Rsc.org. Retrieved on January 4, 2013.
  21. RSC Frankland Award Previous Winners. Rsc.org. Retrieved on January 4, 2013.
  22. F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. Portal.acs.org (May 14, 2012). Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  23. Theodore William Richards Medal Recipients Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. nesacs.org
  24. "Bibliotech" (PDF). Fall 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
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