Günther Wilke

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Günther Wilke (born February 23, 1925 in Heidelberg ; † December 9, 2016 ) was a German chemist and professor of organic chemistry and director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr as the successor to Karl Ziegler .

life and work

After graduating from high school in Heidelberg in 1943, Günther Wilke studied chemistry at Heidelberg University , where he did his doctorate under Karl Freudenberg . In 1951 he moved to the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Wilke began his career in Karl Ziegler's group at the Max Planck Institute in Mülheim, where he is considered the discoverer of the nickel effect. His habilitation took place in 1960 at RWTH Aachen . In 1963 he was made a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society , of which he was Vice President from 1978 to 1990.

Wilke's work in the field of catalysis , including the nickel-catalyzed cyclooligomerization of 1,3-butadiene to eight- and twelve-membered carbocycles, has helped shape the history of chemistry and broadened the fundamental understanding of important chemical reactions.

By-products of these carbocycles are successfully used industrially in the production of nylons for various purposes and in the extraction of important basic chemicals in petrochemistry . Among other things , he developed Vestamid , a plastic with high dimensional stability, which u. a. was used in air brake lines, ski bindings and tennis rackets - and for the cleats on the soccer shoes of the German national team at the 1974 World Cup .

Awards and honors

Wilke was a member of various scientific academies, received seven honorary doctorates and his work has been honored with various awards. He was a corresponding member of the math and science class abroad, Vice President of the Max Planck Society (1978–1990), member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Science and the Arts (President 1994–1997), German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina ( since 1976), Halle, Academia Europaea , holder of the Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art and many others. He was also a member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering, Acatech and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Since 1983 corresponding member of the mathematical and natural science class abroad at the Austrian Academy of Sciences

In addition, he was active in many scientific-political functions, for example as President of the Society of German Chemists (GDCh), from 1991 to 1992 as Chairman of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors, and he was a member of several boards of major chemical companies.

In 1965 he received the Ruhr Prize for Art and Science . In 1987 he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany , and in 2000 with a star. In 1997 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia . In 2003 he was made an honorary doctorate from the University of Rostock . In 2013 the GDCh made him an honorary member.

Publications (selection)

Essays

  • Allyl transition metal system . In: Angewandte Chemie , Vol. 78 (1967), pp. 157-172.
  • Contributions to organic nickel chemistry . In: Angewandte Chemie , Vol. 100 (1988), pp. 189-211.

Non-fiction

  • The Organic Chemistry of Nickel . Academic Press, New York 1974/75 (together with Peter W. Jolly ).
  1. Organonickel complexes . 1974, ISBN 0-12-388401-2 .
  2. Organic synthesis . 1975, ISBN 0-12-333402-0 .

literature

  • Who is who? Edition 2001/02. Verlag Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck 2001, p. 1542.
  • Alois Fürstner : Obituary for Günther Wilke from the class for natural sciences and medicine. In: Yearbook North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences (2018), pp. 141–143.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Press release of the MPI for Coal Research: Max Planck Institute for Coal Research mourns the loss of its long-time director Prof. Dr. Dr. hc mult. Günther Wilke , December 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ Günther Wilke: About organic nickel compounds (PDF; 357 kB).
  3. ↑ Karl Fischer, Klaus Jonas, Peter Misbach, Reinhold Stabba, Günther Wilke: On the "nickel effect". In: Angewandte Chemie. 85, 1973, pp. 1001-1012, doi : 10.1002 / anie.19730852302 .
  4. ↑ PW Jolly, Igor Tkatchenko, Günther Wilke: On the mechanism of the cyclodimerization of butadiene with nickel ligand catalysts. In: Angewandte Chemie. 83, 1971, pp. 329-329, doi : 10.1002 / anie.19710830906 .
  5. ↑ Borislav Bogdanovie, Paul Heimbach, Michael Kröner, Günther Wilke, Josef Brandt: About the catalytic conversion of olefins, II On the course of the reaction of the cyclotrimerization of butadiene- (1.3). In: Justus Liebig's Annals of Chemistry. 727, 1969, pp. 143-160, doi : 10.1002 / jlac.19697270118 .
  6. ^ Andreas Rossmann : Müller's shoe . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, December 20, 2016, p. 9.
  7. ↑ Member entry by Prof. Dr. Günther Wilke at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on July 20, 2016.
  8. ↑ see page in the Acatech membership directory about Wilke ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.acatech.de
  9. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter W. (PDF; 852 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved April 28, 2017 (English).
  10. ↑ Member page of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, accessed on May 22, 2020
  11. ↑ Merit holders since 1986. State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on March 11, 2017 .
  12. ^ Honorary doctorates - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - University of Rostock. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .
  13. ^ Society of German Chemists resolves: Günther Wilke becomes a new honorary member. GDCh press release from October 28, 2013 at the Science Information Service (idw-online.de)


personal data
SURNAME Wilke, Günther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist and director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Heidelberg
DATE OF DEATH December 9, 2016