Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Nobel Chemistry Winner Hideki Shirakawa Dies at 90
Hideki Shirakawa was a scientist from Japan who studied plastics.
He discovered that some plastics can carry electricity.
He shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work with Alan Heeger and Alan MacDiarmid.
Their discovery challenged the usual idea that plastics cannot conduct electricity.
Conductive plastics can be lighter and more flexible than metals.
They are used in things such as solar cells and mobile phone screens.
Shirakawa died on August 24 at age 90.
The cause of his death was not announced.
Hideki Shirakawa, co-winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has died aged 90.
The University of Tsukuba said Shirakawa died on August 24 but did not give a cause.
The Yomiuri newspaper reported that he died at a hospital in Yokohama.
Shirakawa, Alan Heeger and Alan MacDiarmid showed that plastic could conduct electricity like metal.
Their work helped enable lighter, flexible conductive materials used in solar cells and mobile phone screens.
- Who
- Japanese scientist Hideki Shirakawa, along with fellow researchers Alan Heeger and Alan MacDiarmid.
- What
- Shirakawa died at age 90; he was known for developing conductive polymers and sharing the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- When
- He died on August 24; the articles do not specify the year.
- Where
- The University of Tsukuba announced his death, while Yomiuri reported that he died at a hospital in Yokohama.
- Why
- His work demonstrated that plastics could conduct electricity and helped advance flexible, lightweight electronic materials.
- Age at death
- 90
- Nobel Prize
- Co-winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Scientific contribution
- Discovery and development of conductive polymers
- Date of death
- August 24
- Reported location of death
- A hospital in Yokohama, according to Yomiuri
- Academic institution
- University of Tsukuba
- Applications of the research
- Solar cells and mobile phone screens