Herbert C. Brown

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Herbert C. Brown
Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1979)
Priestley Medal (1981)
Perkin Medal (1982)[1]
AIC Gold Medal (1985)
NAS Award in Chemical Sciences (1987)
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Chicago,
Purdue University
Doctoral advisorHermann Irving Schlesinger

Herbert Charles Brown (May 22, 1912 – December 19, 2004) was an American chemist and recipient of the 1979

organoboranes
.

Life and career

Brown was born Herbert Brovarnik in

United States citizen.[5] On February 6, 1937, Brown married Baylen, the person he credits with making him interested in hydrides of boron, a topic related to the work in which he, together with Georg Wittig, won the Nobel prize in Chemistry in 1979.[3] Two years after starting graduate studies, he earned a Ph.D.
in 1938, also from the University of Chicago.

Unable to find a position in industry, he decided to accept a postdoctoral position. This became the beginning of his academic career. He became an instructor at the University of Chicago in 1939, and held the position for four years before moving to

Professor Emeritus from 1978 until his death in 2004.[3]
The Herbert C. Brown Laboratory of Chemistry was named after him on Purdue University's campus. He was an honorary member of the International Academy of Science, Munich.

During World War II, while working with Hermann Irving Schlesinger, Brown discovered a method for producing sodium borohydride (NaBH4), which can be used to produce boranes, compounds of boron and hydrogen. His work led to the discovery of the first general method for producing asymmetric pure enantiomers. The elements found as initials of his name H, C and B were his working field.

In 1969, he was awarded the National Medal of Science.[8]

Brown was quick to credit his wife Sarah with supporting him and allowing him to focus on creative efforts by handling finances, maintaining the house and yard, etc. According to Brown, after receiving the Nobel prize in Stockholm, he carried the medal and she carried the US$100,000 award.

In 1971, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[9]

He was inducted into the Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame in 2000.[10]

He died December 19, 2004, at a hospital in Lafayette, Indiana after a heart attack.[11] His wife died May 29, 2005, aged 89.

Research

Borane, BH3, is a gaseous compound that is only present at high temperatures. It dimerises to form diborane, B2H6. Diborane has a pair of three-center two-electron bonds.

As a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, Herbert Brown studied the reactions of diborane, B2H6. Hermann Irving Schlesinger's laboratory at the University of Chicago was one of two laboratories that prepared diborane. It was a rare compound that was only prepared in small quantities. Schlesinger was researching the reactions of diborane to understand why the simplest hydrogen-boron compound is B2H6 instead of BH3.[12]

carbonyls under mild conditions. Yet Brown's Ph.D. thesis published in 1939 received little interest. Diborane was too rare to be useful as a synthetic reagent.[12]

In 1939, Brown became the research assistant in Schlesinger's laboratory. In 1940, they began to research volatile, low molecular weight uranium compounds for the

methyl borate reacted to produce sodium trimethoxyborohydride, which was viable as a substitute for the lithium hydride.[12]

Soon they were informed that there was no longer a need for uranium borohydride, but it appeared that sodium borohydride could be useful in generating hydrogen. They began to look for a cheaper synthesis and discovered that adding methyl borate to sodium hydride at 250° produced sodium borohydride and sodium methoxide. When acetone was used in an attempt to separate the two products, it was discovered that sodium borohydride reduced the acetone.[12]

Sodium borohydride is a mild

alkoxy substituents to the aluminum hydride decreases the reducing ability. They successfully developed a full spectrum of reducing agents.[12]

hydroxyl group to a carbon-carbon double bond, the hydrogen is added to the less-substituted carbon of the bond and the hydroxyl or halide group is added to the more-substituted carbon of the bond. In hydroboration-oxidation, the opposite addition occurs.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "SCI Perkin Medal". Science History Institute. 2016-05-31. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  2. – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d Wilhelm Odelberg (1979). "Herbert C. Brown: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1979". Les Prix Nobel. Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-08-19. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  4. ^ a b Negishi, Ei-Ichi (2008). "Herbert Charles Brown" (PDF). National Academy of Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-10.
  5. ^ "Herbert C. Brown". Notable Names Database. Soylent Communications. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  6. ^ "Biography of Herbert C. Brown". Purdue University. 2001. Archived from the original on 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  7. ^ "Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame". Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity. Retrieved 2008-01-07.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details - NSF - National Science Foundation". www.nsf.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-10-15.
  9. American Academy of Achievement
    .
  10. ^ "Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity". alphachisigma.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07.
  11. ^ Kenneth Chang (December 21, 2004). "Herbert C. Brown, 92, Dies; Chemist Won Nobel for Boron Work". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2014-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry - Hydroboration-oxidation reaction". www.chem.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-05-15.

External links