Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2026

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai.

• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award in Stockholm on October 7, 2026. The two scientists received this honor for significant discoveries related to non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

• Asymmetric synthesis is a crucial process in modern chemistry, enabling the preferential production of one of the two possible mirror-image forms of a molecule. These two forms are known as enantiomers.

• Enantiomers share the same chemical formula and atomic connectivity but differ in their three-dimensional structure.

• Simply put, they are mirror images of each other. The research conducted by Kagan and Soai has played a pivotal role in advancing the understanding of how to synthesize such molecules in a controlled manner.