List of Nobel Prize in Chemistry Winners From 1901 Till 2025

Year

Laureates

Discovery / Contribution

2025

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, Omar M. Yaghi

for the development of metal-organic frameworks

2024

David Baker, Demis Hassabis, John Jumper

for computational protein design and protein structure prediction

2023

Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, Aleksey Yekimov

for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots

2022

Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, K. Barry Sharpless

for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry

2021

Benjamin List, David W.C. MacMillan

for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis

2020

Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer A. Doudna

for the development of a method for genome editing

2019

John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, Akira Yoshino

for the development of lithium-ion batteries

2018

Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith, Sir Gregory P. Winter

for the directed evolution of enzymes and the phage display of peptides and antibodies

2017

Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, Richard Henderson

for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution

2016

Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, Bernard L. Feringa

for the design and synthesis of molecular machines

2015

Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, Aziz Sancar

for mechanistic studies of DNA repair

2014

Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, William E. Moerner

for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy

2013

Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, Arieh Warshel

for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems

2012

Robert J. Lefkowitz, Brian Kobilka

for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors

2011

Dan Shechtman

for the discovery of quasicrystals

2010

Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi, Akira Suzuki

for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis

2009

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, Ada E. Yonath

for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome

2008

Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, Roger Y. Tsien

for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP

2007

Gerhard Ertl

for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces

2006

Roger D. Kornberg

for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription

2005

Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, Richard R. Schrock

for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis

2004

Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Irwin Rose

for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

2003

Peter Agre, Roderick MacKinnon

for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes

2002

John B. Fenn, Koichi Tanaka, Kurt Wüthrich

for the development of methods for identification and structure analyses of biological macromolecules

2001

William Knowles, Ryoji Noyori, K. Barry Sharpless

for work on chirally catalysed hydrogenation and oxidation reactions

2000

Alan Heeger, Alan MacDiarmid, Hideki Shirakawa

for the discovery and development of conductive polymers

1999

Ahmed Zewail

for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy

1998

Walter Kohn, John Pople

for their development of density-functional theory and computational methods in quantum chemistry

1997

Paul D. Boyer, John E. Walker, Jens C. Skou

for elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying ATP synthesis and discovery of Na+,K+-ATPase

1996

Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold Kroto, Richard E. Smalley

for the discovery of fullerenes

1995

Paul J. Crutzen, Mario J. Molina, F. Sherwood Rowland

for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning ozone formation and decomposition

1994

George A. Olah

for his contribution to carbocation chemistry

1993

Kary B. Mullis, Michael Smith

for PCR invention and site-directed mutagenesis

1992

Rudolph A. Marcus

for contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions

1991

Richard R. Ernst

for development of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy methodology

1990

Elias James Corey

for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis

1989

Sidney Altman, Thomas R. Cech

for discovery of catalytic properties of RNA

1988

Johann Deisenhofer, Robert Huber, Hartmut Michel

for determination of the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre

1987

Donald J. Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen

for their development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions

1986

Dudley R. Herschbach, Yuan T. Lee, John C. Polanyi

for contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes

1985

Herbert A. Hauptman, Jerome Karle

for development of direct methods for determination of crystal structures

1984

Bruce Merrifield

for methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid matrix

1983

Henry Taube

for work on mechanisms of electron transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes

1982

Aaron Klug

for development of crystallographic electron microscopy and structural elucidation of nucleic acid-protein complexes

1981

Kenichi Fukui, Roald Hoffmann

for their theories concerning the course of chemical reactions

1980

Paul Berg, Walter Gilbert, Frederick Sanger

for studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids and determination of base sequences in nucleic acids

1979

Herbert C. Brown, Georg Wittig

for development of boron- and phosphorus-containing reagents in organic synthesis

1978

Peter Mitchell

for chemiosmotic theory of biological energy transfer

1977

Ilya Prigogine

for contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics

1976

William Lipscomb

for studies on boranes illuminating problems of chemical bonding

1975

John Cornforth, Vladimir Prelog

for stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions and organic molecules

1974

Paul J. Flory

for achievements in the physical chemistry of macromolecules

1973

Ernst Otto Fischer, Geoffrey Wilkinson

for pioneering work on organometallic sandwich compounds

1972

Christian Anfinsen, Stanford Moore, William H. Stein

for work on ribonuclease and enzyme catalytic activity

1971

Gerhard Herzberg

for knowledge of molecular structure, particularly free radicals

1970

Luis Leloir

for discovery of sugar nucleotides and their role in carbohydrate biosynthesis

1969

Derek Barton, Odd Hassel

for development of the concept of conformation and its application in chemistry

1968

Lars Onsager

for discovery of reciprocal relations fundamental to thermodynamics of irreversible processes

1967

Manfred Eigen, Ronald G.W. Norrish, George Porter

for studies of fast chemical reactions using short pulses of energy

1966

Robert S. Mulliken

for work on chemical bonds and molecular orbital theory

1965

Robert B. Woodward

for achievements in organic synthesis

1964

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

for X-ray structure determinations of important biochemical substances

1963

Karl Ziegler, Giulio Natta

for discoveries in the chemistry and technology of high polymers

1962

Max F. Perutz, John C. Kendrew

for studies of structures of globular proteins

1961

Melvin Calvin

for research on carbon dioxide assimilation in plants

1960

Willard F. Libby

for development of carbon-14 dating method

1959

Jaroslav Heyrovsky

for discovery and development of polarographic methods of analysis

1958

Frederick Sanger

for work on the structure of proteins, especially insulin

1957

Lord Todd

for work on nucleotides and nucleotide co-enzymes

1956

Sir Cyril Hinshelwood, Nikolay Semenov

for researches into the mechanism of chemical reactions

1955

Vincent du Vigneaud

for work on biochemically important sulphur compounds and synthesis of a polypeptide hormone

1954

Linus Pauling

for research into the nature of the chemical bond and structure of complex substances

1953

Hermann Staudinger

for discoveries in macromolecular chemistry

1952

Archer J.P. Martin, Richard L.M. Synge

for invention of partition chromatography

1951

Edwin M. McMillan, Glenn T. Seaborg

for discoveries in the chemistry of transuranium elements

1950

Otto Diels, Kurt Alder

for discovery and development of the diene synthesis

1949

William F. Giauque

for contributions in chemical thermodynamics at low temperatures

1948

Arne Tiselius

for research on electrophoresis and adsorption analysis

1947

Sir Robert Robinson

for investigations on plant alkaloids

1946

James B. Sumner, John H. Northrop, Wendell M. Stanley

for discovery that enzymes can be crystallized and purification of enzymes and virus proteins

1945

Artturi Virtanen

for research and inventions in agricultural and nutrition chemistry

1944

Otto Hahn

for discovery of nuclear fission

1943

George de Hevesy

for use of isotopes as tracers in the study of chemical processes

1939

Adolf Butenandt, Leopold Ruzicka

for work on sex hormones and polymethylenes

1938

Richard Kuhn

for work on carotenoids and vitamins

1937

Norman Haworth, Paul Karrer

for investigations on carbohydrates, vitamin C, and carotenoids

1936

Peter Debye

for work on molecular structure through dipole moments and X-ray diffraction

1935

Frédéric Joliot, Irène Joliot-Curie

for synthesis of new radioactive elements

1934

Harold C. Urey

for discovery of heavy hydrogen

1932

Irving Langmuir

for discoveries and investigations in surface chemistry

1931

Carl Bosch, Friedrich Bergius

for invention and development of chemical high pressure methods

1930

Hans Fischer

for researches into haemin and chlorophyll and synthesis of haemin

1929

Arthur Harden, Hans von Euler-Chelpin

for investigations on fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes

1928

Adolf Windaus

for research into sterols and their connection with vitamins

1927

Heinrich Wieland

for investigations of bile acids and related substances

1926

The Svedberg

for work on disperse systems

1925

Richard Zsigmondy

for demonstrating the heterogeneous nature of colloid solutions

1923

Fritz Pregl

for invention of micro-analysis of organic substances

1922

Francis W. Aston

for discovery of isotopes and the whole-number rule

1921

Frederick Soddy

for contributions to the chemistry of radioactive substances and isotopes

1920

Walther Nernst

for work in thermochemistry

1918

Fritz Haber

for synthesis of ammonia from its elements

1915

Richard Willstätter

for research on plant pigments, especially chlorophyll

1914

Theodore W. Richards

for accurate determinations of atomic weights

1913

Alfred Werner

for work on linkage of atoms in molecules and coordination chemistry

1912

Victor Grignard, Paul Sabatier

for discovery of Grignard reagent and hydrogenation of organic compounds

1911

Marie Curie

for discovery of radium and polonium and research on their compounds

1910

Otto Wallach

for services to organic chemistry in alicyclic compounds

1909

Wilhelm Ostwald

for work on catalysis and chemical equilibria

1908

Ernest Rutherford

for investigations into the disintegration of elements

1907

Eduard Buchner

for discovery of cell-free fermentation

1906

Henri Moissan

for isolation of fluorine and the electric furnace

1905

Adolf von Baeyer

for work on organic dyes and hydroaromatic compounds

1904

Sir William Ramsay

for discovery of inert gases and their place in the periodic system

1903

Svante Arrhenius

for electrolytic theory of dissociation

1902

Emil Fischer

for work on sugar and purine syntheses

1901

Jacobus H. van 't Hoff

for discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure