Overview

In 1961 Charles J. Pedersen (1904-1989) was investigating complexes of vanadyl ion (VO) with multidentate phenolic ethers and was left with a “brownish goo.” Research into crystals contained within it led to the discovery of a whole new class of chemical compounds that he called “crown” ethers. Pedersen retired from DuPont in 1969, but his work helped establish the field of research known as nanotechnology, which explores the ability to build structures at the molecular level and won him the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1987.

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