[rolnor]

As I understand, the first organocatalysts were not discovered by the 2021 Nobel Prize winners or? Im am not sure about this, please enlighten me.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proline_organocatalysis

[kriggy]

Yes that is true but the price is “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis”.

They mention some names in the press release but also:

Before 2000, several observations of organocatalysis were reported, although most appeared as
unique isolated examples rather than part of development of a comprehensive methodology.


That is probably the important thing.

https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2021/10/advanced-chemistryprize2021.pdf

[rolnor]

OK, I did not read that, I should have. Maybe the scientists that made the very first organocatalyst reactions should have shared the price with the winners?

[kriggy]

I dont know. First the price is given for asymmetric organocatalysis which eliminates quite a few of them and second I dont think anyone before them really did systematic exploration

[rolnor]

I did mean asymetric organocatalysis. I think the very first discovery should be acnowledged, without that the whole area would not have been explored at all by anyone, at least not att this point in time. Its like inventing the wheel and getting nothing but someone that makes a wheel out of iron gets all the credits, I think its wrong.

[sjb]

True - but where do you stop then? Should Borodin be acknowledged for developing the aldol reaction? Or Wöhler, for dispelling vitalism?

[rolnor]

Are you really being realistic or maybe sarcastic? I understand what you mean but in this case there are clear, early cases of this reactions as I understand it that I think should be recognized. Maybe I am just grumpy and tired because I did not receive the price.
Hajjosh and Parrish did this type of reactions in the 70s, why is this not important?
They did invent the genre

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040402002005161?via%3Dihub