John F. Hartwig

Title
Henry Rapoport Chair
Department
Dept of Chemistry
Faculty URL
http://chem.berkeley.edu/faculty/hartwig/
Research Group
http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/jfhgrp/
Email
jhartwig@berkeley.edu
Phone
510-642-2038
Fax
510-642-2049
 
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Research Expertise and Interest
inorganic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, catalysis, organic chemistry
Research Description

My group's research focuses on the discovery and understanding of new reactions catalyzed by transition metal complexes. We study the selective catalytic functionalization of alkanes, methods to form arylamines and aryl ethers from aryl halides or sulfonates, a method for the direct conversion of carbonyl compounds to α-aryl carbonyl derivatives, systems for the catalytic hydroaminations of alkenes, vinylarenes and dienes, and enantioselective and site-selective catalysts for the regio and enantioselective amination of allylic carbonates, catalytic processes for the depolymerization of lignin, and reactions mediated by multiple catalysts. As we develop these catalytic processes, we conduct detailed mechanistic experiments to reveal the elementary reactions that constitute the overall catalytic cycle.

In the News

John Hartwig presentation at the Emanuel Merck lectureship award ceremony in Germany
May 23, 2022

2022 Emanuel Merck Lectureship awarded to John F. Hartwig

Merck KGaA, a leading science and technology company located in Darmstadt, Germany, has named John F. Hartwig, Henry Rapoport Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley as the seventeenth recipient of the Emanuel Merck Lectureship.
molecular structure of a new metalloenzyme
October 14, 2021

Synthetic biology moves into the realm of the unnatural

A collaboration between synthetic chemists and synthetic biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has now overcome that hurdle, engineering bacteria that can make a molecule that, until now, could only be synthesized in a laboratory.
bundled plastic bags awaiting recycling
December 17, 2020

Upcycling: Turning plastic bags into adhesives

While many cities and eight states have banned single-use plastics, bags and other polyethylene packaging still clog landfills and pollute rivers and oceans. One major problem with recycling polyethylene, which makes up one-third of all plastic production worldwide, is economic: Recycled bags end up in low-value products, such as decks and construction material, providing little incentive to reuse the waste.
John Hartwig
January 16, 2019

Professor John Hartwig awarded the 2019 Wolf Prize in Chemistry

John F. Hartwig from University of California at Berkeley and Stephen L. Buchwald from MIT, awarded the 2019 Wolf Prize for Chemistry for the development of efficient transition-metal catalysts that have revolutionized drug manufacturing, leading to a breakthrough in molecule and synthetics design. 
May 1, 2012

Four UC Berkeley scientists elected to National Academy of Sciences

Four University of California, Berkeley, faculty members – physicists John Clarke and Bernard Sadoulet, chemist John Hartwig and ecologist Mary Power – have been elected members or foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences, bringing UC Berkeley’s total NAS membership to 141.

Latest News

2022 Emanuel Merck Lectureship awarded to John F. Hartwig
Synthetic biology moves into the realm of the unnatural
Upcycling: Turning plastic bags into adhesives
See all

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In the News

John Hartwig presentation at the Emanuel Merck lectureship award ceremony in Germany
May 23, 2022

2022 Emanuel Merck Lectureship awarded to John F. Hartwig

Merck KGaA, a leading science and technology company located in Darmstadt, Germany, has named John F. Hartwig, Henry Rapoport Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley as the seventeenth recipient of the Emanuel Merck Lectureship.
molecular structure of a new metalloenzyme
October 14, 2021

Synthetic biology moves into the realm of the unnatural

A collaboration between synthetic chemists and synthetic biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has now overcome that hurdle, engineering bacteria that can make a molecule that, until now, could only be synthesized in a laboratory.
bundled plastic bags awaiting recycling
December 17, 2020

Upcycling: Turning plastic bags into adhesives

While many cities and eight states have banned single-use plastics, bags and other polyethylene packaging still clog landfills and pollute rivers and oceans. One major problem with recycling polyethylene, which makes up one-third of all plastic production worldwide, is economic: Recycled bags end up in low-value products, such as decks and construction material, providing little incentive to reuse the waste.
John Hartwig
January 16, 2019

Professor John Hartwig awarded the 2019 Wolf Prize in Chemistry

John F. Hartwig from University of California at Berkeley and Stephen L. Buchwald from MIT, awarded the 2019 Wolf Prize for Chemistry for the development of efficient transition-metal catalysts that have revolutionized drug manufacturing, leading to a breakthrough in molecule and synthetics design. 
May 1, 2012

Four UC Berkeley scientists elected to National Academy of Sciences

Four University of California, Berkeley, faculty members – physicists John Clarke and Bernard Sadoulet, chemist John Hartwig and ecologist Mary Power – have been elected members or foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences, bringing UC Berkeley’s total NAS membership to 141.

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