Stefan Mecking, University of Konstanz, Germany, has received the Karl Ziegler Prize 2025 from the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh, German Chemical Society) and the Karl Ziegler Foundation. The award is one of the most highly endowed German awards in the field of chemistry, with EUR 50,000 and a gold medal. The awards will be presented at a festive Award Dinner on September 29, 2025, during the GDCh Science Forum Chemistry (SFC) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.

Stefan Mecking receives the award for “his research on polymerization in dispersed systems (plastic production in aqueous droplets), polymer colloids, and nanostructures. He developed catalysts that enable the targeted incorporation of functional groups into polymer structures and allow polymerizations in polar media, leading to degradable and recyclable materials as well as novel morphologies; his interdisciplinary work addresses fundamental challenges in materials chemistry with broad societal relevance, advancing new polymer materials and fostering innovations in the life sciences and alternative energy technologies.”

 

Career Highlights

Stefan Mecking studied chemistry at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1994 under the supervision of Wilhelm Keim. He then pursued postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, in the group of Maurice Brookhart. Following a position at Hoechst AG in Frankfurt, Germany, he completed his habilitation at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

In 2004, he was appointed Professor of Chemical Materials Science at the University of Konstanz. His research focuses on polymerization in dispersed systems, polymer colloids and nanostructures, catalyst design and mechanistic studies, as well as hybrid organic–inorganic nanophases.

Among other honors, Stefan Mecking has received the Eugen Graetz Prize  in 2000, the DECHEMA Young Lecturer Award in 2003, the Otto Roelen Medal of DECHEMA and Celanese AG in 2003, the BASF Catalysis Award in 2003, and the Karl Ziegler–Giulio Natta Lecture of the GDCh and the Società Chimica Italiana (SCI) in 2008.

 

Selected Publications

• L. Odenwald, L. Wursthorn, S. Mecking, Irreversible Deactivation Pathways in Ni(II)-
  Catalyzed Nonalternating Ethylene–Carbon Monoxide Copolymerization, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 7182 – 7186. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c16468
• F. Lin, M. Voccia, L. Odenwald, I. Göttker-Schnetmann, L. Falivene, L. Caporaso, S. Mecking, Origin of Suppressed Chain Transfer in Phosphinephenolato Ni(II) Catalyzed Ethylene Polymerization, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 27950 – 27957. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c06597
• C. Hahn, I. Göttker-Schnetmann, I. Tzourtzouklis, M. Wagner, A. Müller, G. Floudas, S. Mecking, H. Frey, Nopadiene: A Pinene-Derived Cyclic Diene as a Styrene Substitute for Fully Biobased Thermoplastic Elastomers, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 26688 – 26698. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c08130
• M. Baur, N. K. Mast, J. Brahm, R. Habè, T. O. Morgen, S. Mecking, High Density Polyethylene with In-Chain Photolyzable and Hydrolyzable Groups Enabling Recycling and Degradation, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202310990. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202310990
• T. F. Nelson, D. Rothauer, M. Sander, S. Mecking, Degradable and Recyclable Polyesters from Multiple Chain Length Bio- and Waste-Sourceable Monomers, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202310729. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202310729
• S. de Roo, F. Einsiedler, S. Mecking, Catalytic Biorefining of Natural Oils to Basic Olefinic
  Building Blocks of Proven Chemical Valorization Schemes, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202219222. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202219222
• M. Eck, S. T. Schwab, T. F. Nelson, K. Wurst, S. Iberl, D. Schleheck, C. Link, G. Battagliarin, S. Mecking, Biodegradable High Density Polyethylene-Like Material, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202213438. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202213438
• M. Häußler, M. Eck. D. Rothauer, S. Mecking, Closed-Loop Recycling of Polyethylene-Like Materials, Nature 2021, 590, 423 – 427. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24054800
• T. O. Morgen, M. Baur, I. Göttker-Schnetmann, S. Mecking, Photodegradable Branched Polyethylenes from Carbon Monoxide Copolymerization under Benign Conditions, Nature Commun. 2020, 11, 3693. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17542-5
• M. Schnitte, A. Staiger, L. A. Casper, S. Mecking, Uniform Shape Monodisperse Single Chain Nanocrystals by Living Aqueous Catalytic Polymerization, Nature Commun. 2019, 10, 2592. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10692-1
• Florian Stempfle, Patrick Ortmann, Stefan Mecking, Long-Chain Aliphatic Polymers To Bridge the Gap between Semicrystalline Polyolefins and Traditional Polycondensates, Chem. Rev. 2016, 116, 7, 4597 – 4641. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00705
• Moritz C. Baier, Martin A. Zuideveld, Stefan Mecking, Post-Metallocenes in the Industrial Production of Polyolefins, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53(37), 9722 – 9744. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201400799
• J. Pecher, S. Mecking, Nanoparticles of Conjugated Polymers, Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 6260 – 6279. https://doi.org/10.1021/cr100132y