F. Albert Cotton
F. Albert Cotton (April 9 1930 – February 20 2007) was the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University.
Most of Dr. Cotton's research focused on the chemistry of the transition metals, including the structure, synthesis, and properties of metal complexes containing multiple metal-metal bonds.
Education
After a BS degree from Temple University in 1951, Cotton pursued a Ph.D. thesis under the guidance of Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson at Harvard where he worked on metallocenes.[1] He received his Ph.D in 1955.
Independent career
Cotton began his career at MIT with an emphasis on both electronic structure and chemical synthesis. He pioneered the study of multiple bonding between transition metal atoms, starting with research on rhenium halides,[2] and in 1964 identified the first known quadruple bond in the Re2Cl82- ion. His work soon focused on other metal-metal bonded species,[3] elucidating the structure of chromium(II) acetate, and thousands of other chemical compounds. This work which continued to his death. He also initiated a study of metal cluster compounds.
He was an early proponent of single crystal X-ray diffraction as a routine tool for elucidating the extensive chemistry of metal complexes. Through his studies on clusters, he demonstrated that many exhibited "fluxionality", whereby ligands interchange coordination sites on spectroscopically observable time-scales.
He coined the term "hapticity" and the nomenclature that derives from it. In the early 1970's, he moved to Texas A&M, where he continued to publish in academic journals and serve as a graduate advisor in the Department of Chemistry.
Pedagogical influence
In addition to his research efforts, Cotton contributed significantly to the teaching of inorganic chemistry. He authored Chemical Applications of Group Theory.[4] This text introduced generations of chemists to the group theoretical analysis of bonding and spectroscopy. With his Ph.D advisor, he coauthored a text known colloquially as Cotton and Wilkinson.[5] The book, with sixth editions in English, has been translated to various languages. The text surveys coordination chemistry, cluster chemistry, homogeneous catalysis, and organometallic chemistry.
Cotton served as a graduate advisor to over one hundred Ph.D. students and supervised hundreds of postdoctoral coworkers.
Recognition
Cotton published over 1600 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. He received various awards, including the National Medal of Science, the Wolf Prize, and the Priestley Medal, the American Chemical Society's highest recognition. Dr. Cotton was a member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
External links
References
- ^ Wilkinson, G.; Pauson, P. L.; Cotton, F. A., Bis-Cyclopentadienyl Compounds of Nickel and Cobalt, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1954, volume 76, pages 1970-74. doi:10.1021/ja01636a080.
- ^ Bertrand, J. A.; Cotton, F. A.; Dollase, W. A., "Metal-Metal Bonded, Polynuclear Complex Anion in CsReCl4", Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1963, volume 85, pages 1349-50. doi:10.1021/ja00892a029
- ^ Cotton, F. A.; Walton, R. A. “Multiple Bonds Between Metal Atoms” Oxford (Oxford): 1993. ISBN 0-19-855649-7.
- ^ Cotton, F. A., Chemical Applications of Group Theory, John Wiley & Sons: New York, 1990. ISBN 0471510947
- ^ Cotton, F. A. and Wilkinson, G., Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley and Sons: New York, 1988.