- Email: [email protected]
Protagonists in chemistry
Inorganica Chimica Acta 359 (2006) 4673–4675 www.elsevier.com/locate/ica
PROTAGONISTS IN CHEMISTRY
Wolfgang Herrmann This special issue of Inorganica Chimica Acta is dedicated to Wolfgang A. Herrmann on the occasion of his honorary doctorate from the University of Frankfurt. It compiles articles from a number of his colleagues, former students, and friends from around the world. Wolfgang Herrmann was born in Kelheim (Bavaria) in 1948. He studied Chemistry at the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen, supported by a scholarship of the German Episcopate, and graduated in 1971. During the research project for his Diploma degree, he worked on transition metal complexes of PH3, the parent compound of all phosphine ligands. These first steps towards independent research 0020-1693X/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ica.2006.10.001
were supervised by E.O. Fischer, the 1973 Nobel laureate in Chemistry (together with G. Wilkinson). Intrigued by the emerging potential of organometallic chemistry for homogeneous catalysis and in particular stereoselective synthesis, Wolfgang Herrmann joined the group of H. Brunner (Regensburg) for his Ph.D. thesis, where he was among the first to study optically active transition metal complexes. With the financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Wolfgang Herrmann moved to the Pennsylvania State University to work as a postdoctoral fellow with P.S. Skell. In 1976, he returned to the University of Regensburg to start his Habilitation. At this point
4674
Protagonists in Chemistry
in time, his scientific interests focussed on the question of how diazoalkanes can be used as carbene precursors for the preparation of transition metal methylene complexes. This project turned out to be exceptionally fruitful as evidenced by a series of highly cited articles on organometallic synthesis with diazoalkanes, which he published during this period. As a result of this successful research, Wolfgang Herrmann finished his Habilitation within just two years and was soon after appointed C3 Professor at the University of Regensburg. Only three years later, he accepted a call to the University of Frankfurt as a full professor (C4). Three years after that, the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen offered him the prestigious chair of his former mentor, E.O. Fischer. Aware of the Munich institute’s impressive tradition, where he would succeed not only Fischer, but also E. Erlenmeyer, W. Manchot, and W. Hieber, and still passionately rooted in his Bavarian Heimat, Wolfgang Herrmann accepted. Since then, he has received two offers for chair positions from the ETH Zu¨rich, which he declined. He also decided against becoming the head of the Central Research Unit of the Hoechst AG, a position which was offered to him in 1993. He rather preferred to serve the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen not only scientifically as a faculty member, but also politically: in 1995 he was elected president of the Technische Universita¨t. He still holds this position today in addition to his role as head of a highly productive research group. Wolfgang Herrmann’s research has major impact on contemporary inorganic chemistry with seminal work both in homogeneous catalysis (e.g. oxidation catalysis, C–C coupling reactions, Ziegler-Natta-polymerization with metallocene complexes, ring-opening metathesis polymerization, catalytic two-phase hydroformylation, organolanthanoid chemistry) and in materials science (e.g. chemical vapour deposition of volatile organometallic complexes). He pioneered the chemistry of methyltrioxorhenium, developed high-yield synthetic routes to numerous derivatives RReO3 (R = alkyl, aryl, allyl) and thoroughly investigated the unique catalytic properties of these intriguing compounds. For example, upon addition of the cheap and environmentally benign oxidant H2O2, alkylrhenium(VII)oxides form mono and bisperoxo complexes, which proved to be efficient catalysts for a broad variety of selective oxidative transformations (e.g. amines to Noxides; olefins to epoxides, diols, aldehydes, or acids; arenes to hydroxyarenes or quinones). This last reaction was successfully exploited in Herrmann’s famous synthesis of the vitamins K3 and E. Transition metal carbene complexes were discovered in Munich and research in this field has played an important role there ever since. Thus, when Arduengo published his landmark paper on the first isolation of a stable N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC), the Herrmann group immediately recognized the potential of this class of compounds as steering ligands in homogeneous catalysis. At the forefront of this rapidly developing field, they contributed to the assessment of NHCs electronic structure and bonding
properties by quantum chemical means, they prepared chiral derivatives of N-heterocyclic carbenes for use in asymmetric catalysis, and they discovered convenient routes to oligotopic NHCs. As a result, N-heterocyclic carbenes are now well-established ligands for the stabilization of high-performance catalysts, especially in olefin metathesis. Homogeneous catalysis provides a powerful tool to balance economic growth and environmental protection. Since Wolfgang Herrmann is always conscious about the impact of science on society, his group launched several major projects dealing with the clean conversion of renewable resources into valuable synthetic building blocks on an industrial scale (e.g. starch oxidation). Moreover, he used his political weight to set up highly influential research networks between industry and academia in Bavaria and thereby greatly promoted catalysis research in general and the development of ‘‘greener’’ chemistry in particular. His written scientific output of more than 750 original papers positions him among the most cited chemists worldwide. A wealth of 80 patents testifies to the relevance of his research not only to academia but also for industrial application and commercialisation. Moreover, he is well recognized for his textbooks on homogeneous catalysis as well as on preparative inorganic chemistry. As a prominent, distinguished research scientist and true protagonist in chemistry, Wolfgang Herrmann has received numerous awards during his career, among them the Chemistry Award of the Akademie der Wissenschaften at Go¨ttingen (1979), the Karl Winnacker grant of the former Hoechst AG (1979–1983), which is the most prestigious grant for young chemists in Germany, the Otto Klung award (1982), the G.W. Leibniz research award of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (1986–1991), which included a grant of several million German Marks to support independent research during a period of five years, the Otto Bayer award of the Bayer AG (1990; jointly with K.P.C. Vollhardt), the Max Planck research award (1991; jointly with J.-M. Basset), the Pino medal of the Chemical Society of Italy (1994), the Wilhelm Klemm award of the German Chemical Society (1995), the Luigi Sacconi medal of the Chemical Society of Italy (2000), and the ACS award in Organometallic Chemistry (2004). To date, Wolfgang Herrmann has received 13 visiting professorships and distinguished lectureships from universities in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the USA, as well as nine honorary doctorates from universities in China, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, and the USA. He is a member of the academies of science at Mainz and Halle (Leopoldina) and a fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. The significant public role he has played in German science as well as in cultural and educational policy was acknowledged by his being granted such illustrious honours as the Alexander von Humboldt award of the French Department of Science (1989), which is given to personalities who have significantly promoted the German–French cooperation, the Bundesverdienstkreuz of the Federal
Protagonists in Chemistry
Republic of Germany (1997), and the Ordre d’Honneur of the President of the French Republic (2000). Those who meet Wolfgang Herrmann are immediately aware that he is not the kind of person to just accept a given situation that he regards as suboptimal. With inexhaustible energy and admirable efficiency he has therefore set up an enthusiastic, hard-working and well-equipped research group. Later, as president, he reorganized the administration and reshaped the scientific profile of the Technische Universita¨t. During his presidency, the two campi at Garching and Weihenstephan have completely changed their faces. Today, the sophisticated modern architecture of numerous new scientific buildings, lecture halls and libraries reflects the poise of the institution and the high-level research conducted there. Thus, it is not surprising that the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen, consistently ranked among the top universities in Germany, is very attractive to international scientists. Wolfgang Herrmann’s passion for chemistry is always evident to his students and makes him a dedicated and lively teacher who has sparked the enthusiasm of generations of students. Many of the most talented of them later join his group for their Ph.D. project and find him a challenging
4675
supervisor and great mentor. The same is true for his postdocs and Habilitanden, who not only enjoy an inspiring scientific environment, but also get the chance to gain useful insight into the social mechanisms underlying the scientific establishment. Today, 15 of his former co-workers hold academic positions, mainly in Germany, but also in the USA. The articles collected in this special issue of Inorganica Chimica Acta cover a wide spectrum of topics, a fitting tribute to Wolfgang Herrmann’s diverse scientific interests. And so we hope that he enjoys these contributions as much as we have enjoyed and profited from his scientific achievements. Matthias Wagner Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universita¨t Frankfurt (Main), Institut fu¨r Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Max-von-Laue-Straße 7, Frankfurt 60438, Germany Tel.: +69 79829152; fax: +69 79829260. E-mail address: Matthias.Wagner@chemie. uni-frankfurt.de Available online 14 October 2006
PROTAGONISTS IN CHEMISTRY
Wolfgang Herrmann This special issue of Inorganica Chimica Acta is dedicated to Wolfgang A. Herrmann on the occasion of his honorary doctorate from the University of Frankfurt. It compiles articles from a number of his colleagues, former students, and friends from around the world. Wolfgang Herrmann was born in Kelheim (Bavaria) in 1948. He studied Chemistry at the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen, supported by a scholarship of the German Episcopate, and graduated in 1971. During the research project for his Diploma degree, he worked on transition metal complexes of PH3, the parent compound of all phosphine ligands. These first steps towards independent research 0020-1693X/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ica.2006.10.001
were supervised by E.O. Fischer, the 1973 Nobel laureate in Chemistry (together with G. Wilkinson). Intrigued by the emerging potential of organometallic chemistry for homogeneous catalysis and in particular stereoselective synthesis, Wolfgang Herrmann joined the group of H. Brunner (Regensburg) for his Ph.D. thesis, where he was among the first to study optically active transition metal complexes. With the financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Wolfgang Herrmann moved to the Pennsylvania State University to work as a postdoctoral fellow with P.S. Skell. In 1976, he returned to the University of Regensburg to start his Habilitation. At this point
4674
Protagonists in Chemistry
in time, his scientific interests focussed on the question of how diazoalkanes can be used as carbene precursors for the preparation of transition metal methylene complexes. This project turned out to be exceptionally fruitful as evidenced by a series of highly cited articles on organometallic synthesis with diazoalkanes, which he published during this period. As a result of this successful research, Wolfgang Herrmann finished his Habilitation within just two years and was soon after appointed C3 Professor at the University of Regensburg. Only three years later, he accepted a call to the University of Frankfurt as a full professor (C4). Three years after that, the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen offered him the prestigious chair of his former mentor, E.O. Fischer. Aware of the Munich institute’s impressive tradition, where he would succeed not only Fischer, but also E. Erlenmeyer, W. Manchot, and W. Hieber, and still passionately rooted in his Bavarian Heimat, Wolfgang Herrmann accepted. Since then, he has received two offers for chair positions from the ETH Zu¨rich, which he declined. He also decided against becoming the head of the Central Research Unit of the Hoechst AG, a position which was offered to him in 1993. He rather preferred to serve the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen not only scientifically as a faculty member, but also politically: in 1995 he was elected president of the Technische Universita¨t. He still holds this position today in addition to his role as head of a highly productive research group. Wolfgang Herrmann’s research has major impact on contemporary inorganic chemistry with seminal work both in homogeneous catalysis (e.g. oxidation catalysis, C–C coupling reactions, Ziegler-Natta-polymerization with metallocene complexes, ring-opening metathesis polymerization, catalytic two-phase hydroformylation, organolanthanoid chemistry) and in materials science (e.g. chemical vapour deposition of volatile organometallic complexes). He pioneered the chemistry of methyltrioxorhenium, developed high-yield synthetic routes to numerous derivatives RReO3 (R = alkyl, aryl, allyl) and thoroughly investigated the unique catalytic properties of these intriguing compounds. For example, upon addition of the cheap and environmentally benign oxidant H2O2, alkylrhenium(VII)oxides form mono and bisperoxo complexes, which proved to be efficient catalysts for a broad variety of selective oxidative transformations (e.g. amines to Noxides; olefins to epoxides, diols, aldehydes, or acids; arenes to hydroxyarenes or quinones). This last reaction was successfully exploited in Herrmann’s famous synthesis of the vitamins K3 and E. Transition metal carbene complexes were discovered in Munich and research in this field has played an important role there ever since. Thus, when Arduengo published his landmark paper on the first isolation of a stable N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC), the Herrmann group immediately recognized the potential of this class of compounds as steering ligands in homogeneous catalysis. At the forefront of this rapidly developing field, they contributed to the assessment of NHCs electronic structure and bonding
properties by quantum chemical means, they prepared chiral derivatives of N-heterocyclic carbenes for use in asymmetric catalysis, and they discovered convenient routes to oligotopic NHCs. As a result, N-heterocyclic carbenes are now well-established ligands for the stabilization of high-performance catalysts, especially in olefin metathesis. Homogeneous catalysis provides a powerful tool to balance economic growth and environmental protection. Since Wolfgang Herrmann is always conscious about the impact of science on society, his group launched several major projects dealing with the clean conversion of renewable resources into valuable synthetic building blocks on an industrial scale (e.g. starch oxidation). Moreover, he used his political weight to set up highly influential research networks between industry and academia in Bavaria and thereby greatly promoted catalysis research in general and the development of ‘‘greener’’ chemistry in particular. His written scientific output of more than 750 original papers positions him among the most cited chemists worldwide. A wealth of 80 patents testifies to the relevance of his research not only to academia but also for industrial application and commercialisation. Moreover, he is well recognized for his textbooks on homogeneous catalysis as well as on preparative inorganic chemistry. As a prominent, distinguished research scientist and true protagonist in chemistry, Wolfgang Herrmann has received numerous awards during his career, among them the Chemistry Award of the Akademie der Wissenschaften at Go¨ttingen (1979), the Karl Winnacker grant of the former Hoechst AG (1979–1983), which is the most prestigious grant for young chemists in Germany, the Otto Klung award (1982), the G.W. Leibniz research award of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (1986–1991), which included a grant of several million German Marks to support independent research during a period of five years, the Otto Bayer award of the Bayer AG (1990; jointly with K.P.C. Vollhardt), the Max Planck research award (1991; jointly with J.-M. Basset), the Pino medal of the Chemical Society of Italy (1994), the Wilhelm Klemm award of the German Chemical Society (1995), the Luigi Sacconi medal of the Chemical Society of Italy (2000), and the ACS award in Organometallic Chemistry (2004). To date, Wolfgang Herrmann has received 13 visiting professorships and distinguished lectureships from universities in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the USA, as well as nine honorary doctorates from universities in China, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, and the USA. He is a member of the academies of science at Mainz and Halle (Leopoldina) and a fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. The significant public role he has played in German science as well as in cultural and educational policy was acknowledged by his being granted such illustrious honours as the Alexander von Humboldt award of the French Department of Science (1989), which is given to personalities who have significantly promoted the German–French cooperation, the Bundesverdienstkreuz of the Federal
Protagonists in Chemistry
Republic of Germany (1997), and the Ordre d’Honneur of the President of the French Republic (2000). Those who meet Wolfgang Herrmann are immediately aware that he is not the kind of person to just accept a given situation that he regards as suboptimal. With inexhaustible energy and admirable efficiency he has therefore set up an enthusiastic, hard-working and well-equipped research group. Later, as president, he reorganized the administration and reshaped the scientific profile of the Technische Universita¨t. During his presidency, the two campi at Garching and Weihenstephan have completely changed their faces. Today, the sophisticated modern architecture of numerous new scientific buildings, lecture halls and libraries reflects the poise of the institution and the high-level research conducted there. Thus, it is not surprising that the Technische Universita¨t Mu¨nchen, consistently ranked among the top universities in Germany, is very attractive to international scientists. Wolfgang Herrmann’s passion for chemistry is always evident to his students and makes him a dedicated and lively teacher who has sparked the enthusiasm of generations of students. Many of the most talented of them later join his group for their Ph.D. project and find him a challenging
4675
supervisor and great mentor. The same is true for his postdocs and Habilitanden, who not only enjoy an inspiring scientific environment, but also get the chance to gain useful insight into the social mechanisms underlying the scientific establishment. Today, 15 of his former co-workers hold academic positions, mainly in Germany, but also in the USA. The articles collected in this special issue of Inorganica Chimica Acta cover a wide spectrum of topics, a fitting tribute to Wolfgang Herrmann’s diverse scientific interests. And so we hope that he enjoys these contributions as much as we have enjoyed and profited from his scientific achievements. Matthias Wagner Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universita¨t Frankfurt (Main), Institut fu¨r Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Max-von-Laue-Straße 7, Frankfurt 60438, Germany Tel.: +69 79829152; fax: +69 79829260. E-mail address: Matthias.Wagner@chemie. uni-frankfurt.de Available online 14 October 2006