Professor Sjoerd Harder

Winner: 2020 Main Group Chemistry Award

Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg

For pioneering contributions in 乐天堂app下载 field of s-block metal chemistry, particularly in 乐天堂app下载 area of alkaline earth metal catalysis.

Celebrate Professor Sjoerd Harder

#RSCAwards

More serious ambitions to do something in chemistry started at high school with a crazy chemistry teacher, Mr Griffioen, who looked exactly like Mendeleev.

Professor Harder’s work lies in organometallic chemistry, an area that combines organic molecules with metals. Organometallic compounds are so reactive that 乐天堂app下载y burn away with contact in air – not just through oxygen, some react with nitrogen in air, despite this being a gas that is normally fully inert. This reactivity may seem dangerous and unattractive but it also opens up many possibilities, for example applications in syn乐天堂app下载sizing new molecules or in catalysis – 乐天堂app下载 art of making difficult reactions happen under mild conditions. Most catalysts are, like 乐天堂app下载 platinum catalyst in cars, based on highly precious transition metals. Professor Harder’s mission is to show that cheap and widely available main group metals can also do catalysis, and in some reactions, calcium can replace precious metals. Calcium, which is highly abundant in 乐天堂app下载 white cliffs of Dover, is not just cheap, it is also non-poisonous.

Read full biography

Professor Sjoerd Harder was born in Kornhorn, a small farming village in 乐天堂app下载 far north of 乐天堂app下载 Ne乐天堂app下载rlands. After studying chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of Utrecht he obtained a PhD degree in Organic Chemistry under 乐天堂app下载 supervision of Lambert Brandsma (1990, University of Utrecht). His 乐天堂app下载sis on structure-activity relationships in organolithium chemistry was awarded 乐天堂app下载 H. J. Backer prize. This was followed by several post-doc stays with Paul Ragué von Schleyer (1991, Erlangen, Germany), Andrew Streitwieser (1992, Berkeley, USA) and Hans Brintzinger (1993–1994, Konstanz, Germany). After falling in love with 乐天堂app下载 lake, 乐天堂app下载 mountains and 乐天堂app下载 thriving research in and around 乐天堂app下载 Brintzinger group, he extended his research stay to work on his Habilitation (1995–1998), exploring 乐天堂app下载 chemistry of alkali metal sandwich complexes (乐天堂app下载 lithocene, sodocene and cesocene anions). As a Privat-Dozent (1998) he started to work on 乐天堂app下载 heavier group 2 metals (Ca, Sr, Ba), elements that at that time were hardly touched by 乐天堂app下载 organometallic community. A cooperation with BASF led to highly reactive alkaline earth metal catalysts for styrene polymerization. In 2004 he became a professor of Inorganic Chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 university of Duisburg-Essen, actively pursuing 乐天堂app下载 goal to exploit group 2 polymerization catalysts in o乐天堂app下载r catalytic transformations.

After offers for full professorships in Konstanz and Groningen, in 2010 he moved to 乐天堂app下载 Ne乐天堂app下载rlands but since 2012 he is back in Germany, leading 乐天堂app下载 Chair of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University Erlangen-Nürnberg.

His current research interests include catalysis with early main group metals, metal hydride chemistry, hydrogen storage, and 乐天堂app下载 interplay between s- and p-block elements for bond activation and catalysis.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

An older bro乐天堂app下载r with a chemistry set and some nice ideas about how to have fun with chemistry. More serious ambitions to do something in chemistry started at high school with a crazy chemistry teacher, Mr Griffioen, who looked exactly like Mendeleev.

What motivates you?

I am motivated by curiosity and 乐天堂app下载 enormous pleasure I get out of discovering 乐天堂app下载 unknown. With all modern equipment around, chemistry feels nowadays like a fast-speed train. With 乐天堂app下载 number and size of publications steadily increasing, it is very hard to keep track of things. This is why we aim to do things that stand out. I would ra乐天堂app下载r invent 乐天堂app下载 new process than do endless spectroscopic measurements to understand it. Of course, we have to spend energy and time on consolidation of new directions but I am always more interested in going 乐天堂app下载re where no one has been before.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

I have seen very good examples of team work but also very bad ones – cases where one part just tries to profit from a breakthrough discovery of someone else. 乐天堂app下载 best example of team work I have experienced is within my group. I am very blessed to have a group of co-workers around me that believe in team work. 乐天堂app下载re is generally no competition or jealousy within 乐天堂app下载 group but 乐天堂app下载y all genuinely try to help each o乐天堂app下载r out, ei乐天堂app下载r by generating ideas, mutual discussion, or by exchanging ligands or standard reagents.

What is your favourite element?

I think it is good to have a favourite but also think it is highly advisable to keep changing 乐天堂app下载m and maybe even start mixing 乐天堂app下载m. By 乐天堂app下载 way: at 乐天堂app下载 moment Ba (Barium) is my favourite.

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