Some of those discoveries include
Viagra, the drug used to treat erectile
dysfunction; Istin, the world's leading treatment for hypertension and angina;
Diflucan and
Vfend, which treat life-threatening systemic fungal infections
and, more recently, CelsSentri, a promising advance in the war against
Aids/HIV, as well as Dectomax, which treats parasites in cattle.
In making the award, the RSC said: “Such discoveries are only possible by
ensuring the highest level of research and development excellence. The long
and consistent track record of the Pfizer, Sandwich, site is fully worthy of
recognition under the Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical Landmark
Award Scheme.” Dr Simon Campbell, who only a week earlier had been
designated as thirty-first in the Times' “Eureka list of the 100 most important
people in science”, is a former research leader at Pfizer and a past president
of the RSC. He said: “I am very pleased Pfizer has received such a well
deserved Landmark. This award recognises the innovation and dedication of
thousands of Pfizer scientists in the discovery and development of
innovative new medicines which have brought significant benefit to millions
of patients world wide.” Dr Campbell was also involved in the research
teams that produced Cardura, also used to treat high blood pressure and
angina, and Norvasc, for high blood pressure and prostate enlargement.
The plaque was presented on behalf of the RSC by our immediate past
president, Professor Dave Garner. Rod McKenzie, Senior Vice-President,
Pfizer Research and Development said: “I am very proud to receive this
award on behalf of Pfizer and our Sandwich site. Sandwich has long been a
chemistry powerhouse, built on the passion and desire of generations of
outstanding scientists to change lives for the better. It is a wonderful
testament to the many groundbreaking contributions to medicine Sandwich
has made over the site’s fifty-six year history.”
Alan Dronsfield
(adapted from an RSC press release prepared by Paul Gallagher, Media
Relations Executive)
Inorganic Chemical Laboratory, Oxford/John Goodenough Landmark
Award
The latest presentation of an RSC National Chemical Landmark plaque took
place on 30 November 2010 in the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory of the
University of Oxford. It commemorated the laboratory as the site where John
Goodenough and his team developed the cathode material that rendered
feasible the construction of the first lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Today
these devices power mobile phones, laptop computers, portable hand tools
and electric vehicles. The plaque reads:
-25-
Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
where in 1980, John B. Goodenough with
Koichi Mizushima, Philip J. Jones and
Philip J. Wiseman identified the
cathode material that enabled the
development of the rechargeable
lithium-ion battery.
This breakthrough ushered
in the age of portable
electronic devices.
At the ceremony greetings were received as a pre-recorded speech from
Professor Goodenough from his laboratory in the USA. Present at the
ceremony itself were Drs Mizushima, Wiseman and Jones.
Some 100 friends and guests were welcomed to the Laboratory by Peter P.
Edwards, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and by Dr Richard Pike, Chief
Executive of the RSC. Peter spoke briefly of the great contribution that John
Goodenough and his team had made to science, industry and society by their
discovery. This theme was expanded upon, historically, by Dr Phil Wiseman
who presented a personal perspective of the events that led up to the
discovery of the lithium ion rechargeable battery and the discovery itself.
The plaque was presented on behalf of the RSC by Richard Pike and
received on behalf of the Department and University by the Vice-
Chancellor, Prof. Andrew Hamilton.
The forerunner to the discovery being commemorated was the sodium-sulfur
battery. This had a high energy density, long cycle life and could be
fabricated from cheap materials. However it needed an operating
temperature of 300-350
o
C, which limited its uses essentially to non-mobile
applications such as grid energy storage. M. S. Whittingham demonstrated a
system that could operate as low as room temperature in 1976. Lithium was
reversibly inserted into, and extracted from, a TiS
2
positive electrode:
xLi + TiS
2
= Li
x
TiS
2
← charge
discharge →
But this was not ideal as the lithium metal used to redeposit across the cell
rather than ending up “plating” the electrode, thus causing electrical shorts
and limiting the number of operational cycles.
The Oxford team used lithium in conjunction with lithium cobalt oxide that
overcame this problem, whilst maintaining the attractiveness of room
temperature operation
The cell is
Li[LiBF
4
/PC]LiCoO
2
(PC = propylene carbonate)
-26-