In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 20 August 1936
- Died
- 24 August 2026
- Birthplace
- Tokyo, Japan
- Country
- Japan
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- Polyacetylene films and conducting polymers
- Field
- Polymer chemist
- Known for
- Polyacetylene films and conducting polymers
Why this life matters
The work joined chemical synthesis and physical investigation. A film’s metallic appearance, its measured conductivity and its usefulness in a finished device are different claims that his career helps separate.
Timeline
Key moments
Tokyo Tech graduation
Completed chemical engineering studies.
Doctorate and research
Began postdoctoral-career polymer investigations.
Pennsylvania collaboration
Worked with MacDiarmid, Heeger and colleagues.
University of Tsukuba
Joined its materials science programme.
Professorship
Became professor at Tsukuba.
Retirement and Nobel
Shared the Chemistry Nobel.
Death
Tsukuba records 24 August 2026.
From childhood interests to polymer research
Shirakawa was born in Tokyo on 20 August 1936 and spent part of his childhood in Takayama. His autobiographical account recalls interests in plants, electronics and polymers. The choice of polymer chemistry brought those interests into an experimental discipline rather than fixing his career in advance.
He graduated from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1961 and received an engineering doctorate in 1966. His training included both polymer physics and synthesis. He later regarded that combination as important for understanding the structure and behaviour of polyacetylene.
Making a film was a distinct advance
After the doctorate he investigated polyacetylene at Tokyo Tech’s Chemical Resources Laboratory. His account describes an unexpected film produced during work that normally yielded powder. Understanding why a film formed required further investigation; the accident alone was not the discovery of all conducting polymers.
The film made new measurements and comparisons possible. Shirakawa’s retrospective describes work on structure, morphology and spectra alongside synthesis. A shiny surface could attract attention, but metallic appearance was not a substitute for measuring the electrical properties of a specified material.
Sources for this section: [1]
The Pennsylvania collaboration
Alan MacDiarmid invited him to the University of Pennsylvania, where he spent a year beginning in 1976. Work with MacDiarmid, Alan Heeger and other researchers connected chemical treatment with large changes in conductivity. Shirakawa specifically recalled measurements with C. K. Chiang.
The resulting field depended on making the polymer, changing its electronic properties and investigating the outcome. Later Nobel recognition named three laureates, but should not replace the wider experimental team. Nor does the result mean that untreated plastics generally conduct electricity like metals.
Tsukuba and a continuing materials programme
Shirakawa joined the University of Tsukuba in 1979 and became a professor in 1982. His later work included oriented polyacetylene films and other conjugated polymers. These investigations addressed how molecular structure and the arrangement of the material affect the properties available for study.
He retired in 2000 and shared that year’s Chemistry Nobel with Heeger and MacDiarmid. Tsukuba’s September 2026 notice records his death on 24 August 2026; this biography therefore does not repeat older profiles that describe him as living. His work also formed part of the background to Akira Yoshino’s early battery-material research.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Hideki Shirakawa
- Was Shirakawa still living in 2026?
- He died on 24 August 2026, as recorded by the University of Tsukuba and the Nobel facts page.
- Was a shiny polyacetylene film enough to demonstrate conductivity?
- No. The preparation of a film and electrical measurements of treated material were separate parts of the research.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Alan MacDiarmid
Read about the collaborator and fellow 2000 laureate.
- Akira Yoshino
Follow conducting-polymer research into an early battery-material programme.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Hideki Shirakawa; Nobel PrizeAutobiographical account
Selected life/collaboration passages read. The film incident is presented as Shirakawa’s recollection, without assigning blame or reconstructing an experimental protocol.
- 2. University of TsukubaUniversity biography and chronology
- 3. University of TsukubaSeptember 2026 death notice
Official 2026 notice supplies the death date; stale living-person summaries are not carried forward.
- 4. Nobel PrizePrize and life facts
- 5. Akira Yoshino; Nobel PrizeBattery researcher’s account of polyacetylene
