Pekhnyo V.I. was born August 8th 1952 in the Chinadievo Transcarpathian region, former USSR. In 1974 he graduated with honors from Uzhgorod University. During 1974-1976 he worked as a senior engineer of plant “Tochprilad” (Mukachevo, Transcarpathian region). During 1976-1979 he studied at the postgraduate course at V. I. Vernadsky Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry.
From 1979 he continued the work at V. I. Vernadsky Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry as Senior Engineer, Junior, Senior, Leading Researcher, Head of Department “Complex Compounds Chemistry” (since 2001), Deputy Director for Scientific Work (since 2001). Since 2016 he is the director of V. I. Vernadsky Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry.
Candidate of Sciences (1982), Doctor of Science (1997), Professor (2002), Corresponding Member of NAS of Ukraine (2003).
In the author's team, he became the winner of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology (1995) for the cycle of scientific works "Coordination chemistry in electrolytes". He is the author of more than 280 scientific works, of which more than 100 papers, 30 copyright certificates and patents for inventions.
Scientific research is concerned with technologies for inorganic and coordination compounds of precious metals, in particular, the class of platinum group metal compounds with unusual ligands, the development of new technologies for the separation and extraction of precious metals, as well as the chemistry of simple and coordination compounds of precious and non-ferrous metals (in aqueous, non-aqueous, mixed and melted multifunctional O-, N-, S-, Se-, Te-, P-containing solvent-reagents).