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Holger Braunschweig

Holger Braunschweig is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Holger Braunschweig rather than just read about it. In short: Holger Braunschweig is Head and Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany. He is best known for founding the field of transition metal-boron multiple bonding (transition metal borylenes), the synthesis of the first stable compounds containing boron-boron and boron-oxygen triple bonds, the isolation of the first non-carbon/nitrogen main-group dicarbonyl, and th…

Holger Braunschweig — main illustration
Holger Braunschweig — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Holger Braunschweig belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Holger Braunschweig to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Holger Braunschweig from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Holger Braunschweig is Head and Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany. He is best known for founding the field of transition metal-boron multiple bonding (transition metal borylenes), the synthesis of the first stable compounds containing boron-boron and boron-oxygen triple bonds, the isolation of the first non-carbon/nitrogen main-group dicarbonyl, and the first fixation of dinitrogen at an element of the p-block of the periodic table. By modifying a strategy pioneered by Prof. Gregory Robinson of the University of Georgia, Braunschweig also discovered the first rational and high-yield synthesis of neutral compounds containing boron-boron double bonds (diborenes). In 2016 Braunschweig isolated the first compounds of beryllium in the oxidation state of zero.

Education and research career Braunschweig obtained his Ph.D. and Habilitation from RWTH Aachen with P. Paetzold and worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Michael F. Lappert, FRS, at the University of Sussex, Brighton. After two years at Imperial College London as Senior Lecturer and Reader he took up a Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg in 2002, and is now also the founding director of the Institute for Sustainable Chemistry & Catalysis with Boron (ICB).[6]

Professional achievements In 2009 Braunschweig was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG) – the highest German-based research prize. He was also awarded the 2014 RSC Main Group Award,[7] the 2016 Alfred Stock Memorial Prize of the German Society of Chemists,[8] the 2021 RSC Mond-Nyholm Prize,[9] the 2024 ACS M. Frederick Hawthorne Award,[10] and the 2024 Eni Advanced Environmental Solutions Prize.[11] He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a member of the German National Academy of Science (Leopoldina),[12] the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities,[13] and the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts.[14]

References

External links Group research website

Illustrations

Holger Braunschweig illustration
Holger Braunschweig: Braunschweig's 2018 dinitrogen activation with a transient borylene species
Braunschweig's 2018 dinitrogen activation with a transient borylene species

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Holger Braunschweig

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Holger Braunschweig claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Holger Braunschweig before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Holger Braunschweig ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Holger Braunschweig

In research
Holger Braunschweig appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Holger Braunschweig in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Holger Braunschweig is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1961 births, 21st-century German chemists, Academic staff of the University of Würzburg, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Holger Braunschweig outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Holger Braunschweig in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Holger Braunschweig means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Holger Braunschweig out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Holger Braunschweig in simple terms?

Holger Braunschweig is Head and Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany. He is best known for founding the field of transition metal-boron multiple bonding (transition metal borylenes), the synthesis of the first stable compounds containing…

Why does Holger Braunschweig matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Holger Braunschweig?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Holger Braunschweig.

Tags

  • 1961 births
  • 21st-century German chemists
  • Academic staff of the University of Würzburg
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winners
  • Living people
  • Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

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