John F. Hartwig

Professor; Henry Rapoport Endowed Chair in Organic Chemistry

Dept of Chemistry

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(510) 642-2038

510-642-2049

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Research Bio

John Hartwig is the Henry Rapoport Chair in Organic Chemistry. Professor Hartwig's research group focuses on the discovery and understanding of new reactions of organic compounds catalyzed by transition metal complexes and artificial metalloenzymes. These findings result from a combination of organic synthesis, organometallic synthesis, protein design and evolution, and mechanistic analysis of catalytic systems.

The Hartwig group is currently investigating both small-molecule catalysts and artificial metalloenzymes for selective reactions of organic molecules. These reactions include the selective catalytic functionalization of alkanes and arenes, cross-couplings to form aryl and allyl amines and ethers, α-aryl and α-allyl carbonyl derivatives, methods for the fluorination and fluoroalkylation of arenes, additions to alkenes, methods to prepare chemicals and polymers from renewable chemical feedstocks, and hydrocarbyl functionalization reactions catalyzed by artificial metalloenzymes that combine the reactivity of transition-metal catalysts with the selectivity and evolutionary potential of enzymes. His group has conducted extensive mechanistic investigations of each of these types of reactions. Through these studies, they have revealed several new classes of organometallic reactions, including reductive eliminations, discrete compounds that functionalize alkanes, unusual three-coordinate arylpalladium complexes that are intermediates in cross-coupling, the first compounds that oxidatively add ammonia to form monomeric products, and the first transition-metal amido and alkoxo complexes that insert unactivated alkenes. In addition to these research activities he has authored a leading textbook in organometallic chemistry, titled Organotransition Metal Chemistry: From Bonding to Catalysis.

Research Expertise and Interest

inorganic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, catalysis, organic chemistry

In the News

image of someone working in a research lab, under a fumehood

12 Amazing UC Discoveries of 2024

Look back on some of 2024’s most memorable discoveries from UC research.

a bearded man wearing goggles adjust equipment inside a fume hood

Vaporizing Plastic Bags and Bottles Yields Gases to Make New, Recycled Plastics

The catalytic process, discovered by researchers at UC Berkeley, efficiently reduces polymers to chemical precursors, bringing a circular economy for plastics one step closer to reality.

with a milk bottle as background, a graphic showing how web-like polymer is degraded

Process Converts Polyethylene Bags, Plastics to Polymer Building Blocks

A new process developed at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory could change the way polyethylene plastics — in particular, the ubiquitous plastic bag that blights the landscape — are notoriously recycled.

John Hartwig presentation at the Emanuel Merck lectureship award ceremony in Germany

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

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.

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.

Road to chiral alkylamines paved with iridium

Alkylamines are one of the most useful compounds in a chemist’s bag of tricks. Pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and polymers often contain these functional groups.

Scientists finally crack nature’s most common chemical bond

The most common chemical bond in the living world — that between carbon and hydrogen — has long resisted attempts by chemists to crack it open, thwarting efforts to add new bells and whistles to old carbon-based molecules.

Researchers awarded Wolf Prizes in agriculture, chemistry

Two UC Berkeley faculty have been awarded 2019 Wolf Prizes in chemistry and agriculture, the Israel-based Wolf Foundation announced this week.

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.

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.

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.

September 3, 2024

Has a UC Berkeley chemistry lab discovered the holy grail of plastic recycling?

Los Angeles Times

Susanne Rust

"But new research from a team of chemists at UC Berkeley suggests a glimmer of hope when it comes to the thorny problem of recycling plastics — one that may allow us to have our cake, and potentially take a very small bite, too." This research was first featured on UC Berkeley News.

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