The Palladium Global Science Award announces 2025 winners
Published on 5 September 2025
The International Expert Council has completed its review of the applications for the Palladium Global Science Award, and we are delighted to present the 2025 winners. We extend our gratitude to all participants for their interest and belief in the project.
Best Scientific Development — First Place: Chao-Jun Li
Name: Chao-Jun Li
Position: Distinguished James McGill Chair Professor, McGill University, Canada
Nomination: Best Scientific Development
Placement: First Place
Project: Photosynthesis of CH3OH via oxygen–atom grafting from CO2 to CH4 enabled by AuPd/Ga
Scientific significance: The work demonstrates a method that enables the direct conversion of two major greenhouse gases – methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) – into valuable chemical products. Using a palladium-based catalyst, a reaction was initiated in which an oxygen atom from CO2 attaches to a CH4 molecule. As a result, green methanol and carbon monoxide are formed.
The process operates at room temperature, displaying potential for scaling up and industrial implementation. Not only does Chao-Jun Li propose a revolutionary pathway for methanol production, but also simultaneously addresses the problem of greenhouse gas utilization, reducing its impact on climate change.
Prize: $120,000
Best Scientific Development — Second Place: Makoto Fujita
Name: Makoto Fujita
Position: Distinguished Professor, University of Tokyo and Institute for Molecular Science, Japan
Nomination: Best Scientific Development
Placement: Second Place
Project: Self-assembly construction of cages and porous molecular materials via coordination chemistry
Scientific significance: The major achievement of Makoto Fujita is the introduction of a new construction principle: metal-directed self-assembly. In his seminal 1990 paper, Fujita used this metal-directed self-assembly principle to construct a molecular square with 4 palladium(II) atoms at its corners. Since then, Fujita’s group and, subsequently, a large number of research groups worldwide have used this construction principle to assemble increasingly more complex nanostructures and materials.
In summary, Makoto Fujita has pioneered a novel principle of metal-directed self-assembly using Pd(II) ions and developed in a magisterial fashion the functions, extensions and applications of these objects, capably addressing many of society’s needs.
Prize: $60,000
Best Scientific Article — First Place: Natesan Thirupathi
Name: Natesan Thirupathi
Position: Senior Professor, Delhi University, India
Nomination: Best Scientific Article
Placement: First Place
Article: CNN palladium(II) pincer complexes containing N-substituted monoanionic and dianionic guanidinate ligands: Syntheses, structural aspects, and their utility in Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions
Scientific significance: Natesan Thirupathi has been working in organopalladium compounds since 2003. These complexes are extremely useful as catalysts in norbornene polymerization and cross-coupling reactions. Further, cyclopalladated guanidinate complexes are useful platforms for the study of fundamental organometallic reactivity alkyne insertion, depalladation and more. At the same time, they revealed intriguing solution behaviour, which was observed using low variable temperature NMR spectroscopy. A solid training given to the research scholars by the applicant (Thirupathi) has helped them to thoroughly understand organometallic chemistry in general and organopalladium chemistry in particular.
Prize: $80,000
Best Scientific Article — Second Place: Michael Joseph Krische
Name: Michael Joseph Krische
Position: Professor, Robert A. Welch Chair in Science, the University of Texas at Austin, USA
Nomination: Best Scientific Article
Placement: Second Place
Article: Aryl halide cross-coupling via formate-mediated transfer hydrogenation
Scientific significance: Catalytic hydrogenation and metal-catalyzed cross-coupling are among the most broadly utilized chemical transformations in drug discovery and manufacture. In breakthrough work with researchers at Genentech, University of Pittsburgh and University of Minnesota, the Krische laboratory has merged these two processes, enabling direct cross-coupling of organic halides via hydrogen transfer using sodium formate, an abundant, safe and environmentally benign hydrogen transfer agent. This method bypasses the conversion of organic halides to premetalated cross-coupling partners using hazardous organometallic reagents.
Prize: $40,000
Best Applied Concept — First Place: Safa Faris Kayed
Name: Safa Faris Kayed
Position: Associate Professor, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Nomination: Best Applied Concept
Placement: First Place
Project: Development of a palladium-based photocatalytic smart device for in situ degradation of industrial dyes and pharmaceutical wastewater
Scientific significance: The product, named PalladClear™, is an innovative photocatalytic device designed for the on-site treatment of industrial wastewater. It targets the effective degradation of hazardous organic dyes and pharmaceutical residues commonly found in effluents from textile and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants. The device integrates a novel palladium-based photocatalyst embedded in a fixed-bed reactor chamber and activated by either ultraviolet or gamma radiation. Once connected to the sewage outlets of industrial facilities, the system enables continuous in situ photocatalytic degradation of contaminants before the wastewater is discharged.
The scientific novelty of this product lies in its core material: newly synthesized palladium mixed-ligand complexes using organic phenolic ligands, which serve as the active photocatalysts.
A number of such mixed-ligand complexes will be synthesized and characterized, varying the organic phenolic ligands to modulate structural and electronic properties. Among the synthesized complexes, the one demonstrating the highest photocatalytic performance and reusability will be selected for integration into the final version of the device.
Prize: $50,000