Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Jr.
Van 't Hoff by Nicola Perscheid in 1904
Born(1852-08-30)30 August 1852
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died1 March 1911(1911-03-01) (aged 58)
NationalityDutch
Alma mater
Known for
Awards Helmholtz Medal (1911)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysical chemistry
Organic chemistry
Theoretical chemistry
Institutions
Doctoral advisorEduard Mulder[2]
Doctoral studentsErnst Cohen
Other notable studentsFrederick G. Donnan

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Jr. (Dutch: [vɑn (ə)t ˈɦɔf]; 30 August 1852 – 1 March 1911) was a Dutch physical chemist. A highly influential theoretical chemist of his time, van 't Hoff was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[3][4][5] His pioneering work helped found the modern theory of chemical affinity, chemical equilibrium, chemical kinetics, and chemical thermodynamics. In his 1874 pamphlet, Van 't Hoff formulated the theory of the tetrahedral carbon atom and laid the foundations of stereochemistry. In 1875, he predicted the correct structures of allenes and cumulenes as well as their axial chirality.[6] He is also widely considered one of the founders of physical chemistry as the discipline is known today.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ "Fellows of the Royal Society". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015.
  2. ^ Ramberg, Peter J. (2017). Chemical Structure, Spatial Arrangement: The Early History of Stereochemistry, 1874–1914. Routledge. ISBN 9781351952453.
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "van't Hoff, Jacobus Hendricus" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^ Nobel Lecture Osmotic Pressure and Chemical Equilibrium from Nobelprize.org website
  5. ^ Grandin, Karl (ed.). "Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Biography". Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
  6. ^ La Chemie dans l'Espace, Bazendijk: Rotterdam, 1875
  7. ^ Meijer, E. W. (2001). "Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff; Hundred Years of Impact on Stereochemistry in the Netherlands". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 40 (20): 3783–3789. doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20011015)40:20<3783::AID-ANIE3783>3.0.CO;2-J. PMID 11668534.
  8. ^ Spek, Trienke M. van der (2006). "Selling a Theory: The Role of Molecular Models in J. H. van 't Hoff's Stereochemistry Theory". Annals of Science. 63 (2): 157. doi:10.1080/00033790500480816. S2CID 218636163.
  9. ^ Kreuzfeld, HJ; Hateley, MJ. (1999). "125 years of enantiomers: back to the roots Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff 1852–1911". Enantiomer. 4 (6): 491–6. PMID 10672458.

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