Chemistry becomes three-dimensional

  The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2001  
       
     
 

 

van ‘t Hoff (Nobel Prize 1901) was one of the first to realize that molecules are three-dimensional.

This year’s Nobel Prize has its roots in research carried out by the first Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, J. H. van ‘t Hoff. In 1874 he and J.-A. le Bel proposed the revolutionary hypothesis that molecules are three-dimensional and that they can therefore occur in two forms that are mirror images of each other. Their theory was considered ridiculous, because molecules were thought of as being two-dimensional at that time.

 

 

 

  
     
 
 Contents:
| Introduction | Nature is chiral | What is catalytic asymmetric synthesis? | How does a chiral molecule function? | Chemistry becomes three-dimensional | Pioneering work | General hydrogenations | Chirally catalysed oxidations | Further reading | Credits |
Based on materials from the 2001 Nobel Poster for Chemistry.
Web Adapted Version of the Nobel Poster from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
 

To cite this section
MLA style: Chemistry becomes three-dimensional. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Mon. 20 May 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2001/9097-chemistry-becomes-three-dimensional/>

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