King's College London

Dr Clare Bakewell from the Department of Chemistry has received the Sir Edward Frankland Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry in recognition of her work on organometallic compounds, and their potential role as abundant and inexpensive catalysts.

Catalysts are compounds used to improve the efficiency of chemical reactions, and more than 90% of chemicals produced in industry today are made using them. However, many of those chemicals are made using expensive precious materials like platinum which are in short supply and environmentally damaging to extract.

To fill this need, many are looking towards more common elements from the periodic table. Clare and her team have been designing highly reactive molecules to fill this niche, controlling how electrons are transferred between molecules in networks of reactions to design environmentally friendly catalysts that break apart tough chemical bonds.

Dr Bakewell, Lecturer in Chemistry, said upon receiving the prize, “Wow – what an honour to receive the Dalton Division Early Career prize! This is such a testament to the hard work of my group – past and present.

“Over the past five years, we have navigated setting up a lab during Covid and two periods of maternity leave – there have been lots of unknowns, but my team have had a phenomenally positive attitude for which I am incredibly grateful!” 

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s prizes have recognised excellence in the chemical sciences for more than 150 years, and the Sir Edward Frankland Prize celebrates brilliant strides made by early career researchers in inorganic chemistry. This year’s winners of the RSC’s prizes join 60 Nobel Prize winners including 2022 Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi and 2019 Nobel laureate John B Goodenough.

The Sir Edward Frankland prize also comes with a £3000 prize and medal.

Dr Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said of the winners “Our prize winners come from a vast array of backgrounds, all contributing in different ways to our knowledge-base, and bringing fresh ideas and innovations. We recognise chemical scientists from every career stage and every role type, including those who contribute to the RSC’s work as volunteers. We celebrate winners from both industry and academia, as well as individuals, teams, and the science itself. 

“Their passion, dedication and brilliance are an inspiration. I extend my warmest congratulations to them all.”