David Milstein facts for kids

David Milstein (born June 4, 1947) is a famous Israeli chemist. He studies homogeneous catalysis, which is a way to make chemical reactions happen more easily.

Early Life and Education

David Milstein was born in 1947 in Ulm, Germany. His family had to leave their home because of the Holocaust. When he was two years old, his family moved to the new country of Israel.

He first became interested in chemistry in high school. His teacher in Rehovot made chemistry exciting with cool experiments. This inspired him to learn more. David Milstein then earned his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Career and Important Discoveries

After finishing his studies, Milstein did more research at the University of Iowa and Colorado State University. He worked with a scientist named John Kenneth Stille. Together, they did important work that led to the Stille reaction, which is still a very useful chemical process today.

In 1979, Milstein started working at DuPont Central Research & Development. He became a leader in the field of homogeneous catalysis there. In 1987, he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. He is now a top professor of Organic Chemistry there.

Breaking Chemical Bonds

Milstein's research often focuses on special metal compounds. He uses unique "pincer ligands" in his work. These are like chemical "tweezers" that hold onto metal atoms.

He has studied how to break strong chemical bonds. These include bonds between carbon atoms (C-C), carbon and hydrogen (C-H), and carbon and fluorine (C-F). He also looked at bonds between nitrogen and hydrogen (N-H) and oxygen and hydrogen (O-H). For example, he found a way to insert a metal into a C-C bond. This was a big step for making new chemicals.

How hydrogen gas reacts with a special Milstein catalyst.

Making New Chemicals Easily

Milstein is well-known for discovering special "pincer complex" catalysts. These catalysts help make new chemicals while also releasing hydrogen gas.

One amazing discovery was making amides. Amides are important chemicals. His method uses simple alcohols and amines. The reaction creates amides and releases only hydrogen gas. This means there are no harmful by-products.

RCH₂OH + R'NH₂ → RC(O)NHR' + 2 H₂

Science magazine called this one of the top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2007. It was praised for being very precise and gentle.

His team also found a way to make esters from alcohols using a similar process:

2 RCH₂OH → RC(O)OR + 2 H₂

Splitting Water for Energy

In another exciting project, Milstein and his team found a way to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. They used special ruthenium catalysts. This process uses heat and light to break water apart. It's a new way to get hydrogen and oxygen without needing extra chemicals.

Awards and Recognition

David Milstein has received many important awards for his work:

• 2019: Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society
• 2018: Elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences
• 2017: Received the European Prize of Organometallic Chemistry
• 2017: Received the Israel Chemical Society Gold Medal
• 2016: Received the ENI Award for protecting the environment
• 2012: Elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
• 2012: Received the Israel Prize in Chemistry and Physics
• 2011: Received the Humboldt Research Award
• 2010: Became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• 2010: Received the Royal Society of Chemistry Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Award
• 2007: Received the American Chemical Society Award in Organometallic Chemistry
• 2007: His research was chosen by Science as one of the top 10 breakthroughs of the year
• 2006: Received the Israel Chemical Society Prize
• 2006: Elected to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• 2006: Was a Miller Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley
• 2002: Received the I.M. Kolthoff Prize in Chemistry
• 1999: Received the Paolo Chini Memorial Award

Personal Life

David Milstein is the son of Musia and Abraham. He has an older sister named Lea. In 1971, he married Adi Milstein. They have three children: Nofit (born 1972), Oren (born 1976), and Abraham (born 1983). Oren is a co-founder of a company called StemRad. David Milstein lives in Rehovot, Israel.