Robert Brattain

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R. Robert Brattain
Born(1911-05-21)May 21, 1911
DiedNovember 17, 2002(2002-11-17) (aged 91)
U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesRoss Robert Brattain
Alma mater
Shell Development Company
Known forSpectrophotometry, Instrumentation
RelativesWalter Houser Brattain (brother)

R. Robert Brattain (May 21, 1911 – November 17, 2002) was an American physicist at

spectrophotometer, and for using the infrared spectrophotometer to determine the β-lactam structure of penicillin. His instrumentation work was essential to the subsequent study and understanding of structures in organic chemistry.[1]

Biography

R. Robert Brattain was born May 21, 1911, to Ross R. Brattain and Ottilie Houser Brattain.

cattle ranch near Tonasket, Washington.[4]
: 71 

Brattain attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, following his older brother, Walter Houser Brattain. He then completed a master's degree in physics at the University of Washington in 1933. He went on to attend Princeton University,[1][6] studying physics. There he met John Bardeen, a frequent bridge and bowling partner. Robert Brattain introduced John Barden to his brother, Walter Brattain, with whom Bardeen would win a Nobel Prize.[5][6]

Initially interested in mathematical physics, Robert Brattain soon became interested in experimental physics. After his advisor Edward Condon suggested that he assist R. Bowling Barnes, an expert in infrared spectrometry, Brattain became fascinated with infrared research and instrument design.[7] Brattain, Barnes, and others in the laboratory built a research-quality infrared spectrophotometer, using a rock salt prism, a strip of platinum as an infrared radiation source, a thermopile to measure radiation, and two galvanometers to display results.[8] They used the instrument to begin studying the molecular structure of organic molecules. After Barnes left Princeton for American Cyanamid, he directed funding to Brattain and others to study the infrared absorption spectra of organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, and naphthalene.[9]

Shell Development Company

Due to financial pressures of the

Shell Development Company in Emeryville, California.[7] There he began to use infrared spectroscopy to study the molecular structures of petroleum and related products.[9] He was recognized as an early leader in the area.[10] Brattain's work on C
4 gas mixtures was "one of the first applications [of spectrophotometry] of major importance to the petroleum industry".[11]

Aviation fuels

One of the areas Brattain studied was isomers of butane, which were used to make high-octane aviation fuel. His goal was to use infrared spectrometry as an analytical tool for industrial chemical process control, reliably measuring the isomers in petroleum mixtures.[9]

Brattain again began to build a research-quality infrared spectrophotometer, this time incorporating the ideas of

n-butane by measuring a single wavelength of infrared radiation.[9] While continuing to study butanes with the IRS #1, Brattain designed a simpler model, the "IRS #2," for use in process control in Shell's refineries. He presented his designs for the IRS #1 (research) and the IRS #2 (process control) to the American Physical Society in Pasadena, California in June 1941.[9]

After further development, Brattain proposed a new design for the IRS #4, and approached

rock salt prism with a mirrored back, and an analog galvanometer for presenting results. Users could quickly select between 18 specified wavelengths. Beckman Instruments shipped the first 1R-1 spectrophotometer to Shell on September 18, 1942.[12]

Synthetic rubber

Brattain's examination of isomers proved doubly important to the war effort. In addition to the C4 hydrocarbon isomers isobutane and n-butane (important in aviation fuels) Brattain was able to identify a set of four

isobutene. The butylene isomers were critical for the development of synthetic rubber, another essential material for the war effort.[9] Compared to previous distillation methods, infrared spectrophotometry offered a tremendous time savings, reducing testing time from as much as 15 or 20 hours down to 15 minutes.[9]

During

Arnold O. Beckman of Beckman Instruments, and R. Bowling Barnes of American Cyanamid, seeking a source of reliable instruments for infrared spectroscopy and the analysis of butadiene polymers.[14]: 162–164  Choosing to adopt Bob Brattain's existing design for a single-beam infrared spectrophotometer, they commissioned Beckman Instruments to mass-produce standardized instruments for scientists to use as part of the U.S. government's synthetic-rubber war effort.[1]: 16–18, 62 [13][15]

Production of the instruments was given a AAA priority rating, which ensured that they had access to limited war-time resources. However, the instruments could only be sold to AAA-certified customers, and the research, the instrument design, and the instruments were kept classified until after the war.

Perkin-Elmer whose work was not as restricted, were able to publish about their work in infrared spectroscopy before Brattain and Beckman could do so.[1]: 16 [15] After the war, such instruments were adopted widely by chemists because they were simple to use, reliable, and reasonably priced.[15]

Penicillin

Sir Alexander Fleming. During World War II, the drug was in demand to treat both wounds and life-threatening illnesses such as meningitis, pneumonia and syphilis. Production of penicillin increased from 400 million units in early 1943 to more than 650 billion units per month by the end of the war. There was tremendous pressure to find ways to increase production. Researchers hoped that by understanding the chemical structure of penicillin they could a way to synthesize it.[17] Several possible structures were hypothesized, including an oxazalone structure with 2 linked 5-member rings,[18] and a β-lactam structure involving a 4-member ring, something that had not been observed naturally.[19]

A transatlantic research project was developed to determine the structure of penicillin. It included infrared spectroscopy researchers at Cambridge (

Harold Warris Thompson), and universities and companies in the United States (the Department of Physics at the University of Michigan, Shell Development Company, Merck & Co., Pfizer, and the Russell Sage Institute of Cornell University Medical College).[18][19][20] The US Office of Scientific Research and Development approached Shell during the summer of 1944, and Robert Brattain assembled a team to study the problem using infrared spectrophotometry. Another team at Shell used chemical synthesis techniques.[7] By November 1944 both teams agreed that penicillin had a β-lactam structure. Only that structure explained the presence of strong bands at frequencies of 1785, 1740, 1667 and 1538 cm-1 on the spectroscopy results.[19] Brattain and his co-workers released a report to the government describing their results in 1944.[7] A full report of the international infrared spectroscopy work appeared in 1949.[21]

Working independently in Britain,

Oxford, England used x-ray diffraction to study penicillin's structure, as did researchers at Imperial Chemical Industries. At much the same time as Brattain's group, Dorothy Crowfoot's x-ray crystallography group found results supporting the conclusion that penicillin had a β-lactam structure.[7] Her research was reported in early 1945. For this and other research using x-ray diffraction Dorothy Crowfoot would eventually earn a Nobel Prize.[9]

Nerve gas

After the war, Brattain was asked to carry out hazardous research studying the structure of German nerve gases that had been used in World War II.[7]

After retirement, Robert Brattain lived in Monterey, California.[22]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780854044795
    . Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Walter Houser Brattain". Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  3. ISBN 9780198606697
    . Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b Bardeen, John (1994). Walter Houser Brattain 1902-1987 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Robert Brattain". PBS Online. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0309095112
    . Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Brattain, R. Robert (1999). "Spectroscopy in World War II" (PDF). Spectrum. 26 (2).[dead link]
  8. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.48.582
    .
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Brock, David C.; Gallwas, Gerald (2015-03-09). "Synthetic Rubber, Spectros and War: The Start of Beckman Instruments in IR". Pittcon.
  10. ISBN 9780471908340
    . The oil companies were also aware of the analytical applications of infrared spectroscopy prior to 1940, particularly the Shell Development Co. Research Laboratories at Emeryville, California, under the direction of R. R. Brattain and R. S. Rasmussen.
  11. ^ Coggeshall, N. D. (April 4, 1955). Brattain, R.R. (ed.). "Infrared Spectroscopy in the Petroleum Industry". Symposium on Spectroscopy in the Petroleum Industry. 32: 7–14.
  12. ^
    doi:10.1021/ac50011a001
    .
  13. ^
    Chemical Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original
    on February 4, 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  14. ISBN 978-0-941901-23-9
    .
  15. ^
    S2CID 143055829
    .
  16. ISBN 978-3-527-30271-0
    .
  17. ^ Markel, Howard (September 27, 2013). "The Real Story Behind Penicillin". PBS Newshour. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  18. ^
    ISBN 9780854041398
    . Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  19. ^
    ISBN 9780471908340
    .
  20. ISBN 9781400874910
    .
  21. ISBN 9781400874910
    .
  22. ^ Ho, Vanessa (August 24, 1992). "Outspoken Pioneer Mari Brattain Made Advertising Women's Work". Seattle Times.
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