HIST 18 |
| Although the account of Moses Gomberg's work in 1900 on the synthesis of hexaphenylethane and his hypothesis of its dissociation into the free radical, triphenylmethyl, has been described many times, it is fitting to begin a symposium on free radicals with this pioneering research. Born in Russia and educated at the University of Michigan, Gomberg spent his entire career in Ann Arbor, except for a stint in Germany, divided between the laboratories of Adolf von Baeyer and Victor Meyer. This turned out to be a crucial year, in which he synthesized tetraphenylmethane, was inspired to prepare more highly arylated alkanes, and thus was led into observing experimentally the first free radical. |
|
Landmark Stable Free Radicals of the 20th Century
8:30 AM-12:05 PM, Monday, March 26, 2007 Hyatt Regency McCormick -- 20C, Oral
Division of the History of Chemistry |