北京時間2021年10月6日17時55分（斯德哥爾摩時間2021年10月6日 11時 55分），2021年諾貝爾化學獎獲獎名單公佈，獲獎者為：Benjamin List 和 David W.C. MacMillan. 他們因在不對稱有機催化領域的研究受到表彰

獲獎者簡介

Benjamin List

2021年諾貝爾化學獎獲得者

簡 介

Benjamin List是德國化學家，1968年出生於德國法蘭克福，1997年獲得法蘭克福大學博士學位，現任馬克斯普朗克學會科學會員、科隆大學名譽教授。

David W.C. MacMillan

2021年諾貝爾化學獎獲得者

簡 介

David W.C. MacMillan 是美國有機化學家，1968年生於蘇格蘭，在格拉斯哥大學獲得化學學士學位，1996 年在加州大學爾灣分校獲得博士學位。現任美國普林斯頓大學教授。

獲獎成果

Many research areas and industries are dependent on chemists’ ability to construct molecules that can form elastic and durable materials, store energy in batteries or inhibit the progression of diseases. This work requires catalysts, which are substances that control and accelerate chemical reactions, without becoming part of the final product. For example, catalysts in cars transform toxic substances in exhaust fumes to harmless molecules. Our bodies also contain thousands of catalysts in the form of enzymes, which chisel out the molecules necessary for life.

Catalysts are thus fundamental tools for chemists, but researchers long believed that there were, in principle, just two types of catalysts available: metals and enzymes. Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 because in 2000 they, independent of each other, developed a third type of catalysis. It is called asymmetric organocatalysis and builds upon small organic molecules.

“This concept for catalysis is as simple as it is ingenious, and the fact is that many people have wondered why we didn’t think of it earlier,” says Johan Åqvist, who is chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

Organic catalysts have a stable framework of carbon atoms, to which more active chemical groups can attach. These often contain common elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur or phosphorus. This means that these catalysts are both environmentally friendly and cheap to produce.

The rapid expansion in the use of organic catalysts is primarily due to their ability to drive asymmetric catalysis. When molecules are being built, situations often occur where two different molecules can form, which – just like our hands – are each other’s mirror image. Chemists will often only want one of these, particularly when producing pharmaceuticals.

Organocatalysis has developed at an astounding speed since 2000. Benjamin List and David MacMillan remain leaders in the field, and have shown that organic catalysts can be used to drive multitudes of chemical reactions. Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells. In this way, organocatalysts are bringing the greatest benefit to humankind.

諾貝爾化學獎旨在獎勵那些對人類化學領域裡作出突出貢獻的科學家。諾貝爾化學獎每年評選和頒發一次，由瑞典皇家科學院頒發一枚金牌、一份證書以及一筆獎金。截至2020年，已經有185人獲得諾貝爾化學獎。

諾貝爾獎是以瑞典著名化學家、硝化甘油炸藥發明人阿爾弗雷德·貝恩哈德·諾貝爾的部分遺產作為基金創立的，諾貝爾獎包括金質獎章、證書和獎金支票。在遺囑中他提出，將部分遺產（920萬美元）作為基金，以其利息分設物理、化學、生理或醫學、文學及和平（後添加了‘經濟’獎）5種獎金，授予世界各國在這些領域對人類做出重大貢獻的學者。

2020年10月7日，2020年諾貝爾化學獎獲獎名單公佈，獲獎者為法國生物化學家Emmanuelle Charpentier和美國生物化學家Jennifer Doudna，以表彰其在基因編輯方面做出的傑出貢獻。