R1234yf chemist wins award

USA: The lead chemist in the development of the HFO refrigerant R1234yf has been recognised for his efforts by The Chemists’ Club.

Dr Mario Nappa of Chemours has been named the winner of this year’s Winthrop-Sears Medal for entrepreneurial achievement.

Since joining DuPont in 1981, Dr Nappa has been an inventor on 140 patents and has received numerous medals and awards. He is currently a Chemours Fellow responsible for developing the company’s fluorine based r&d product portfolio.

Most notably, Dr Nappa was the lead chemist in process development for the refrigerant HFO-1234yf and foam expansion agent HFO-1336mzz(Z).

Dr Nappa also played a role in the development of at least seven different HFCs introduced as a result of the phase-out of CFCs in the mid-1990s.

In hearing of the award, Chemours Fluoroproducts president Thierry F J Vanlancker described Dr Nappa as a driving force in the transformation of the Chemours product portfolio to a suite of environmentally sustainable products.

Over 100 years’ old, The Chemists’ Club is a non-profit organisation whose members share an interest in the sciences with strong roots in the chemical process industries including: pharmaceuticals, fragrances, paper, cosmetics, metals, petrochemicals and other sciences.