The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries .
According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences , ”the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 rewards the development of the lithium-ion battery. This lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery is now used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles. It can also store significant amounts of energy from solar and wind power, making possible a fossil fuel-free society. ”
The three winners will share a prize of 9 million Swedish kroner ($910,000).
Stanley Whittingham
The foundation of the lithium-ion battery was laid during the oil crisis in the 1970s. Stanley Whittingham worked on developing methods that could lead to fossil fuel-free energy technologies.
John Goodenough
John Goodenough predicted that the cathode would have even greater potential if it was made using a metal oxide instead of a metal sulphide. After a systematic search, in 1980 he demonstrated that cobalt oxide with intercalated lithium ions can produce as much as four volts.
Akira Yoshino
Akira Yoshino created the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery in 1985. Rather than using reactive lithium in the anode, he used petroleum coke, a carbon material that, like the cathode’s cobalt oxide, can intercalate lithium ions.
About Nobel Prize for Chemisty
- 111 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry have been awarded between 1901 and 2019.
- 63 Chemistry Prizes have been given to one Laureate only.
- 5 women have been awarded the Chemistry Prize so far.
- 1 person, Frederick Sanger, has been awarded the Chemistry Prize twice, in 1958 and in 1980.
- 35 years was the age of the youngest Chemistry Laureate ever, Frédéric Joliot, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1935.
- 97 is the age of the oldest Chemistry Laureate, and oldest laureate ever, John B. Goodenough, awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
