Günther Wilke, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Günther Wilke

German chemist

Date of Birth: 23-Feb-1925

Place of Birth: Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Date of Death: 09-Dec-2016

Profession: chemist

Nationality: Germany

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Günther Wilke (23 February 1925 – 9 December 2016) was a German chemist who was influential in organometallic chemistry.
He was the director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung) from 1967–1992, succeeding Karl Ziegler in that post.
During Wilke's era, the MPI made several discoveries and achieved some financial independence from patents and a gift from the Ziegler family.
The institute continued as a center of excellence in organometallic chemistry. Wilke's own area of interest focused on homogeneous catalysis by nickel complexes.
His group discovered or developed several compounds including Ni(1,5-cyclooctadiene)2, Ni(allyl)2, Ni(C2H4)3.
Some of these complexes are useful catalysts for the oligomerization of dienes.
He died in 2016 at the age of 91.