Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021

Benjamin List

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Stefan Bladh.

Prize share: 1/2

David MacMillan

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Risdon Photography

Prize share: 1/2

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 was awarded jointly to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan "for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis"

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MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Fri. 5 Dec 2025. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2021/summary/>

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