THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

A 1986 DNA model used by Aziz Sancar, who was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

About the prize

“The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- – -/ one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement…”  (Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel.)

Chemistry was the most important science for Alfred Nobel’s own work. The development of his inventions as well as the industrial processes he employed were based upon chemical knowledge. Chemistry was the second prize area that Nobel mentioned in his will.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.

See all chemistry laureates or learn about the nomination process.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022

Their functional chemistry works wonders

Sometimes simple answers are the best. Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldal are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 because they brought chemistry into the era of functionalism and laid the foundations of click chemistry. They share the prize with Carolyn Bertozzi, who took click chemistry to a new dimension and began using it to map cells. Her bioorthogonal reactions are now contributing to more targeted cancer treatments, among many other applications.

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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022

© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022

The 2022 chemistry laureates

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 was awarded to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry”.

Sharpless and Meldal have laid the foundation for a functional form of chemistry – click chemistry – in which molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently. Bertozzi has taken click chemistry to a new dimension and started utilising it in living organisms.
Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, K. Barry Sharpless

Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Nobel Prize laureates share their thoughts

Student meets laureate

“If you learned something from it, it’s not a failure”

Karolinska Institutet student Sofia Iskrak met 2022 chemistry laureate Carolyn Bertozzi to ask her pressing questions, including what Bertozzi was like as a student, her favourite science-themed reads, and her advice for students who are thinking of pursuing science.

Chemistry matters

The life of a chemist

Explore how Nobel Prize laureates compare their own research to the adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

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Who did what?

Questions and answers

What are the Nobel Prize categories?

The Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace and were laid out in the will of Alfred Nobel. Find out more in the FAQ.
The Nobel Prize medal.

The Nobel Prize medal.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

Nobel Prizes and laureates

See the full list of prizes and laureates

All Nobel Prizes in Chemistry

Model depicting a molecule that chemistry laureate Akira Suzuki successfully created by artificial means.

Photo: Nobel Prize Museum

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WOMEN WHO CHANGED SCIENCE

Explore a storytelling experience that celebrates and explores the contributions, careers and lives of 19 women who have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their scientific achievements.
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Learn more about Svante Arrhenius, who first made the connection between carbon dioxide levels and global temperature.

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A map of the Earth with a six-metre sea level rise represented in red

Credit: NASA

The world’s smallest machines

Watch the Nobel Lecture by one of 2016’s laureates Jean-Pierre Sauvage, who helped develop molecular machines.

Jean-Pierre Sauvage

Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

Interview with a double awardee

Frederick Sanger received the prize twice: in 1958 for his work on the structure of proteins and in 1980 for DNA sequencing.

Frederick Sanger Calibration catalogue of amino acids (1)

The double Nobel-awarded laureate Frederick Sanger‘s calibration catalogue of amino acids

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud