Hans Meerwein
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| Hans Meerwein | |
| Born | May 20, 1879 Hamburg, Germany |
|---|---|
| Died | October 24, 1965 (aged 86) Marburg, Germany |
| Residence | Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Fields | Organic chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Bonn, University of Königsberg, University of Marburg |
| Alma mater | University of Bonn |
| Doctoral students | Georg Wittig, Siegfried Hünig, Karl Dimroth |
| Known for | Meerwein's salt |
Hans Meerwein (b. May 20, 1879, Hamburg, Germany – d. October 24, 1965, Marburg, Germany) was an German chemist.[1].
His name is still present in the names of several reactions and reagents, for example the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction, the Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement.[2] and the Meerwein's salt.
[edit] Life and work
After his training as chemotechnician from 1898 till 1890 at the Fresenius chemistry school he started studying chemistry at the University of Bonn. After finishing his PhD with Richard Anschütz he did some research at the University of Berlin before coming back to Bonn where he became professor in 1914. From 1922 till 1928 he was professor for organic chemistry at the University of Königsberg. The last change in his academic career was to the University of Marburg. The war devastated the Institute and Meerwein was planing the rebuilding which was finisched in 1953, the year he retired from lecturing. He conducted experimental work with the help of two postdocs until his death in 1965.
His greatest impact upon organic chemistry was to propose the carbocation 2 as a reactive intermediate, originally as a rationalization of the racemization of isobornyl chloride 1 catalysed by a Lewis acid such as SnCl4. His proposed mechanism for racemization involved s subsequent a 2,6 hydride transfer in the cation; the alternative [1,2] methyl migration, now actually known as a Wagner-Meerwein shift, was in fact suggested for the first time by Houben and Pfankuch [3].
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Karl Dimroth (1898). "Hans Meerwein. 1879-1965". Chemische Berichte 100 (1): LV–XCIV. doi:.
- ^ Hans Meerwein (1914). "Über den Reaktionsmechanismus der Umwandlung von Borneol in Camphen; [Dritte Mitteilung über Pinakolinumlagerungen.]". Justus Liebig's Annalen der Chemie 405: 129–175. doi:.
- ^ Annalen, 1931, 489, 193; 1933, 501, 219-246, doi:10.1002/jlac.19335010113
