Ronald Gillespie

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Ronald James Gillespie CM (born August 21, 1924 in London ) is a British chemist . He gained fame primarily through his work in the field of the spatial shape of molecules and the VSEPR theory developed from it in collaboration with Ronald Nyholm .

Life

Ronald J. Gillespie was born in London in 1924 and began studying chemistry at University College London in 1942 , where he received a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in 1945 . He then became a member of Christopher Kelk Ingold's group , which researched the mechanisms of the nitration of aromatics . His task within the group consisted of the investigation of nitronium ions (NO 2 + ), which arise in mixtures of sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) with nitric acid (HNO 3 ). The results of his work made him Ph.D. from University College London by Ingold in 1949. PhD . Even before his graduation, he was invited by Ingold, prepare their own lectures and was from 1948 to 1950, first Assistant Lecturer , then until 1958 Professor ( Lecturer ) at University College London. During this time he expanded his research in the field of highly acidic acids , now known as super acids , for which he received the Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in 1957 , a "higher doctoral degree " awarded in Great Britain . In 1958 he went to Canada to McMaster University in Hamilton ( Ontario ), where he was Professor of Chemistry from 1960 until his retirement in 1989 .

Gillespie has received numerous awards throughout his life, including the Order of Canada and various honorary doctorates . He is also a member of the Royal Society , Royal Society of Canada , Royal Society of Chemistry , American Chemical Society and the Chemical Institute of Canada .

Services

Gillespie's research in the field of superacids , including fluorosulfonic acid (HFSO 3 ) and its use as a solvent for non- metals and semimetals, enabled the preparation of new and previously unknown polyatomic cations such as I 2 + or S 8 2+ . In the field of fluorine chemistry , he was also concerned with determining the covalent radius of fluorine in compounds, which is more difficult to determine when the atomic size is small than for other elements due to the extremely high electronegativity of the element.

Its known work was the development of VSEPR model ( acronym for V alence S bright E Lectron P air R epulsion; valence electron pair repulsion ), along with Ronald Nyholm , the spatial shape of, by means of which molecules can be determined. The VSEPR theory, for example, can explain the angled shape of the water molecule . He wrote several books on the subject. Today, his work is one of the most important in describing or predicting the shape of molecules. Gillespie, together with other researchers, also developed the LCP theory ( ligand close packing theory ), which takes into account the interactions between the ligands around a central atom, which also influence the shape of molecules.

In addition to several books, Gillespie published over 370 articles in scientific journals.

Works

  • Ronald J. Gillespie: Molecular geometry , New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1972.
  • Molecular geometry. Electron pair repulsion and molecular structure. Translated by Joseph Grobe. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim 1975; ISBN 3-527-25610-5
  • Ronald J. Gillespie et al. : Chemistry , Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 1989.
  • Ronald J. Gillespie, István Hargittai: The VSEPR model of molecular geometry , Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 1991.
  • Ronald J. Gillespie et al .: Atoms, molecules, and reactions: an introduction to chemistry , Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1994.
  • Ronald J. Gillespie, Paul LA Popelier: Chemical bonding and molecular geometry: from Lewis to electron densities , New York, Oxford University Press, 2001.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biographical data, publications and academic family tree of Ronald J. Gillespie at academictree.org, accessed on February 7, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Gillespie, Ronald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gillespie, Ronald James (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British chemist
DATE OF BIRTH August 21, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH London