{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} {{short description|German chemist}} '''Walter Leitner''' (born 1 February 1963 in Pfarrkirchen, Germany) is a German chemist, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) heading the department "Molecular Catalysis" as well as a university lecturer at the RWTH Aachen University, where he holds the position of chair for technical chemistry and petrochemistry.<ref name="Direktor"/>

== Career ==

Leitner studied at the University of Regensburg from 1982 to 1987 and received his doctorate in 1989<ref name="Neue">{{cite journal |title=Neue Mitglieder des Kuratoriums und des Internationalen Beirats |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ange.201712714 |journal=Angewandte Chemie |year=2018 |volume=130 |issue=1 |pages=32–35 |publisher=Wiley |doi=10.1002/ange.201712714 |bibcode=2018AngCh.130...32. |access-date=27 August 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry with a thesis on enantioselective catalytic transfer hydrogenation of formates. In 1990, he completed a postdoctoral stint in the working group of John Michael Brown at the Dyson Perrins Laboratory for Organic Chemistry at the University of Oxford.<ref name="Neue"></ref> In 1991 and 1992 Leitner worked as a Liebig Fellow of the Fund of the Chemical Industry at the Inorganic-Chemical Institute of the University of Regensburg. After three years of work (1992–1995) at the CO<sub>2</sub> Chemistry Working Group of the Max Planck Society (head: E. Dinjus) at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, he habilitated in the field of Inorganic Chemistry and was appointed private lecturer.<ref name="Neue"></ref> He moved to the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim as head of the working group in the field of organic synthesis, where he took over the technical management at the beginning of 1998.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Neue Mitglieder des Kuratoriums und des Internationalen Beirats |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ange.201712714 |journal=Angewandte Chemie |year=2018 |volume=130 |issue=1 |pages=32–35 |publisher=Wiley |doi=10.1002/ange.201712714 |bibcode=2018AngCh.130...32. |access-date=27 August 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> From 2002 he has been the Chair of Technical Chemistry and Petroleum Chemistry, as the successor to Wilhelm Keim at the RWTH Aachen University.<ref name="Covestro">{{cite web |title=Professor Walter Leitner |url=https://www.covestro.com/press/professor-walter-leitner-en/ |website=Global Corporate Website |publisher=Covestro |access-date=27 August 2020}}</ref>

From September 2007, Leitner established the catalysis center "CAT" together with Bayer Material Science AG (now called Covestro AG) and Bayer Technology Services at RWTH Aachen University, of which he has been scientific director ever since.<ref name="Covestro"></ref>

From 2004 to 2016, he was the scientific editor and then the chair of the editorial board of the journal ''Green Chemistry'', published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jessop |first1=Philip |title=Green Chemistry in 2017 |journal=Green Chem. |date=2017 |volume=19 |page=15|doi=10.1039/C6GC90126C }}</ref>

During his engagement with DECHEMA, Leitner was on the board of the newly founded specialist section "Advanced Fluids" in 2007 and on the first board of the German Society for Catalysis (GeCatS) in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Henig |first1=Marion |title=Deutsche Gesellschaft für Katalyse wählt ersten Vorstand |url=https://www.process.vogel.de/deutsche-gesellschaft-fuer-katalyse-waehlt-ersten-vorstand-a-144933/ |website=Process Chemie |access-date=27 August 2020}}</ref>

On 1 October 2017, Leitner was appointed Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) where he was appointed scientific director of the "Molecular Catalysis" Department.<ref name="Direktor">{{cite web |title=Prof. Walter Leitner wird neuer Direktor am Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Energiekonversion |url=https://www.muelheim-ruhr.de/cms/neuer_direktor_am_mpi_cec.html |website=Mülheim an der Ruhr Stadt am Fluss |date=6 September 2017 |access-date=27 August 2020}}</ref> Leitner will continue his chair at RWTH for an initial period of five years as part-time professorship.<ref name="Direktor" />

== Research areas ==

Leitner's scientific work focuses on the development of catalysts and catalyst technologies for sustainable chemical processes (Green Chemistry). The focus is on the development and understanding of the mode of action of molecular catalysts, including detailed experimental and computer chemical studies of the mechanisms and structural-effect relationships in organometallic catalysis. Particular attention is paid to new material conversions and the use of new raw materials for catalytic synthesis as well as to the use of modern reaction media (supercritical fluids, ionic liquids, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and others) for catalytic processes. Multiphase catalysis and catalyst immobilization as well as the development of reactional concepts for continuous processes in molecular catalysis are also important research interests. The use of carbon dioxide, both as a raw material at the interface between chemistry and energy, as well as a green solvent and transport medium for continuous chemical processes, accompanied his scientific career.<ref name="Direktor"></ref>

== Selected awards ==

Leitner received<ref name="Direktor"></ref> the Gerhard Hess Prize of the German Research Foundation in 1977, the Carl Zerbe Prize of the DGMK in 1998, the Otto Roelen Medal of DECHEMA in 2001, the Wöhler Prize for Sustainable Chemistry of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) in 2009, and together with Jürgen Klankermayer the European Sustainable Chemistry Award of the European Chemical Society in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cocker |first1=Jessica |title=Walter Leitner and Jürgen Klankermayer – Winners of the European Sustainable Chemistry Award |url=https://blogs.rsc.org/gc/2014/09/05/walter-leitner-and-jurgen-klankermayer-winners-of-the-european-sustainable-chemistry-award/?doing_wp_cron=1598555001.3192219734191894531250 |website=Green Chemistry Blog |publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry |access-date=27 August 2020}}</ref> He has been a Member of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Mülheim/Ruhr since 2002 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry since 2010.

On 1 January 2018, Walter Leitner was appointed to the Editorial Board of the Journal Angewandte Chemie.<ref name="Neue"></ref>

In September 2019, Walter Leitner and researchers from Covestro AG (Christoph Gürtler and Berit Stange) were nominated for the German Future Prize with the project "CO<sub>2</sub> – a raw material for sustainable plastics".<ref>{{cite web |title=CO2 – A raw material for sustainable plastics |url=https://www.deutscher-zukunftspreis.de/en/team-1-2019 |website=Deutscher Zukunftspreis |access-date=27 August 2020}}</ref>

In 2020 Walter Leitner was awarded the Georg Wittig-Victor Grignard Prize.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Société Chimique de France|url=https://www.societechimiquedefrance.fr/Laureats-des-Prix-2020-de-la-Societe-Chimique-de-France.html?lang=fr|access-date=8 February 2021|website=www.societechimiquedefrance.fr|archive-date=3 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203001859/https://www.societechimiquedefrance.fr/Laureats-des-Prix-2020-de-la-Societe-Chimique-de-France.html?lang=fr|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Key publications == * Walter Leitner: ''Enantioselektive katalytische Transferhydrierung mit Formiaten''. Dissertation, Regensburg, 1989. * Walter Leitner: ''Rhodiumkatalysierte Hydrierung von Kohlendioxid zu Ameisensäure'' habilitation, Jena, 1995. * {{cite book | editor-last=Jessop | editor-first=Philip G. | editor-last2=Leitner | editor-first2=Walter | title=Chemical Synthesis Using Supercritical Fluids | publisher=Wiley | date=8 July 1999 | isbn=978-3-527-29605-7 | doi=10.1002/9783527613687 | ref={{sfnref | Wiley}}}} * {{cite book | last=Anastas | first=Paul | title=Handbook of green chemistry | publisher=Wiley-VCH | publication-place=Weinheim | year=2009 | isbn=978-3-527-32590-0 | oclc=316146211}} * {{cite journal | last1=Zimmerman | first1=Julie B. | last2=Anastas | first2=Paul T. | last3=Erythropel | first3=Hanno C. | last4=Leitner | first4=Walter | title=Designing for a green chemistry future | journal=Science | publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | volume=367 | issue=6476 | date=24 January 2020 | issn=0036-8075 | doi=10.1126/science.aay3060 | pages=397–400| pmid=31974246 | bibcode=2020Sci...367..397Z | s2cid=210880073 }}

== References == {{reflist}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leitner, Walter}} Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century German chemists Category:20th-century German chemists Category:Academic staff of RWTH Aachen University Category:University of Regensburg alumni Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford Category:Academic staff of the University of Jena Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Category:Max Planck Society people Category:German academic journal editors Category:Max Planck Institute directors