Alfred Treibs

Alfred Treibs (born July 21, 1899 in Oberstein / Nahe ; † 1983 ) was a German engineer and geochemist ; he is generally considered to be the founder of organic geochemistry .

Life

From 1924 to 1929 he was assistant to Nobel Prize winner Hans Fischer at the Organic-Chemical Institute of the Technical University of Munich . In 1925 he was awarded a Dr.-Ing. PhD. After completing his habilitation , he worked as a conservator at the Institute of Organic Chemistry. He had to give up this position in 1936 because of his political stance towards National Socialism, but returned to his old place of work in 1946 after the university reopened.

meaning

In the 1930s, based on the detection of certain organic compounds ( tetrapyrroles ; these chemical compounds are modified structural analogues of the pigments used for photosynthesis in bacteria , archaea , algae and land plants ) in petroleum , Treibs developed the hypothesis of the biological origin of the organic material and thus of petroleum. Due to the relatively low concentrations of the components - in the ppm range - this detection was a chemical-analytical challenge at the time. In addition, this discovery can be regarded as the first application of the concept of ' biological markers ' (English 'biomarkers') in geochemistry. After the Second World War, he and Martin Strell and others continued the work of Hans Fischer on the total synthesis of chlorophyll, which had been interrupted by his death. Strell's group succeeded independently of Robert B. Woodward the total synthesis, about which they published before 1960.

Honors

The Organic Geochemistry Division of the Geochemical Society has been awarding the Alfred Treibs Award in honor of Alfred Treibs and in recognition of 'for major achievements in organic geochemistry' since 1979.

On the occasion of the 80th and 100th birthdays of Alfred Treibs, the geologist and geochemist Alexander A. Prashnowsky organized two major international symposiums and published an extensive volume of symposiums in 1980 and 2002 with contributions from important chemists and geochemists.

Web links

• Literature by and about Alfred Treibs in the catalog of the German National Library
• List of recent Alfred Treibs award recipients (Engl.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alfred Treibs: Chlorophyll and heme derivatives in bituminous rocks, petroleum, earth wax and asphalt. A contribution to the creation of crude oil . In: Liebig's annals . tape 510 , no. 1 , 1934, p. 42-62 , doi : 10.1002 / jlac.19345100103 .