Hideki Shirakawa, who shared chemistry Nobel for discovering conductive polymers, passes away at 90

Chemist and materials scientist Hideki Shirakawa, who shared the chemistry Nobel prize for the discovery and development of conductive polymers in 2000, has died at the age of 90. Shirakawa, a pioneer whose work challenged the prevailing view that polymers do not conduct electricity and led to the discovery and development of conductive polymers, died on 24 August.

Shirakawa accumulated over 16,000 citations across his research in the area of conductive polymers, including the landmark paper on halogen derivatives of polyacetylene that he coauthored in 1977 with Alan MacDiarmid and Alan Heeger – co-recipients of the 2000 Nobel award. The work spawned the creation of polymer electronics and revolutionised the design of circuits.