June 22, 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of Vyacheslav Hryhorovych Koshechko, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine, DSc in Chemistry, Professor, member of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, honorary director of the L.V. Pysarzhevsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the NAS of Ukraine.
V.H. Koshechko graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Uzhgorod State University in 1969. All his scientific activities are connected with the L.V. Pysarzhevsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the NAS of Ukraine, where he has worked since 1971, progressing from postgraduate student to director of the Institute. For the last 10 years, he has held the position of Vice-President of the NAS of Ukraine.
V.H. Koshechko is an outstanding scientist in the field of physical and physical organic chemistry. His scientific works cover a wide range of problems in modern chemistry: issues of the theory of chemical structure and reactivity, kinetics and mechanisms of reactions, organic electrochemistry, intermolecular interactions, homogeneous catalysis, properties and behavior of intermediates of chemical transformations. In recent years, the scientist has paid significant attention to research in the field of physical chemistry of functional nanomaterials, in particular two-dimensional structures and nanocomposites based on them. V.H. Koshechko’s scientific achievements include over 500 scientific papers, 4 monographs, and about 50 patents in Ukraine and abroads.
V.H. Koshechko and his colleagues have the priority in discovering a number of fundamentally new effects and phenomena in the field of the structure and reactivity of free radicals – one-electron redox processes, the emergence of electromotive force and electric current in free radical reactions, homogeneous catalysis of various chemical and electrochemical processes by free radicals and ion-radicals; the ability of some “small” molecules to catalyze the transformations of others, etc. He laid the foundations of new relevant scientific areas – the physical chemistry of heteroatomic cation-radicals, electrochemical functionalization of organic substrates by “small” molecules (CO2, CO, NO, SO2, CS2, H2S), physical chemistry of nanostructured systems and nanocomposite materials (including graphenes and graphene-like two-dimensional structures).
V.H. Koshechko made a significant contribution to the creation of a number of innovative scientific and technical developments for leading industries, whose originality and priority have been recognized by patent offices of the USA, Europe, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and others. Together with his colleagues, he developed new dual-purpose lithium power sources, highly sensitive magnetometers for aerogeological exploration, which have been implemented in serial production in Ukraine. Under his academic advising and with his direct participation, highly efficient electrolytes, cathode materials, and nanocomposites for battery systems and low-temperature fuel cells were created, as well as new chemical and electrochemical methods for obtaining a number of commercially important organic compounds. He developed original mechano-, electro-, and sonochemical methods for obtaining nanostructured electrically conductive polymers, graphene, graphene-like MoS2, WS2, BN, germanane, inorganic and hybrid perovskites, and new functional nanocomposites based on them – promising materials for modern technology needs: supercapacitors, photocatalysts, electrocatalysts, sensors, and light-emitting devices.
V.H. Koshechko has extensive international ties with various scientific centers for joint scientific projects within European programs such as PECO, INTAS, COST, NTCU, etc., as well as contracts with major foreign companies (Thomas De La Rue, General Motors, etc.).
Alongside his fruitful scientific activity, V.H. Koshechko carries out extensive scientific and organizational work. From 2008 to 2024 (for 16 years), he headed the L.V. Pysarzhevsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the NAS of Ukraine (now he is the honorary director of the Institute), ensuring the development of a leading scientific institution of Ukraine in the field of physical chemistry. From 2015 to 2025, he held the position of Vice-President of the NAS of Ukraine, and since 2025 he has been a member of the Presidium of the NAS of Ukraine. He actively participates in shaping state scientific policy, the work of the Committee for the Borys Paton National Prize of Ukraine, expert councils, scientific and technical programs, and international scientific organizations. V.H. Koshechko is the editor-in-chief of the journal "Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry," indexed by international scientometric databases Scopus and Web of Science; he is a member of editorial boards of several specialized publications.
For outstanding scientific achievements and significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian science, V.G. Koshechko was awarded high state and scientific awards, including the title of Honored Master of Sciences and Engineering of Ukraine, the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and engineering, the L.V. Pysarzhevsky and O.I. Brodsky prizes of the NAS of Ukraine, the Orders of Prince Yaroslav the Wise III-V classes, the Certificate of Appreciation from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and awards of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the NAS of Ukraine.
Information is provided by the Department of Chemistry of the NAS of Ukraine