Physical Chemistry underwent a transformation from a science based on thermodynamics to one based on quantum mechanics in the 1920s and the early 1930s. Although quantum mechanics was born in Germany and first applied to a chemical problem, understanding of the covalent bonding in H2, by two physicists, Walter Heitler and Fritz London1, the transformation in physical chemistry was mainly made in the US; some young American physical chemists were very active in applying quantum mechanics to chemical problems. Most notable among them were three Nobel Prize winning physical chemists, Linus Pauling, Robert Mulliken and Harold Urey. In particular, Linus Pauling and Robert Mulliken played the most important roles in the development of quantum chemistry in the 1920s and the1930s. Both of them started as experimental physical chemists, Pauling as an X-ray crystallographer and Mulliken as a molecular spectroscopist, but they became pioneers in applying quantum mechanics to chemical problems. However, in their endeavors they took different approaches. Pauling advanced valence bond theory, applying it to explain a variety of chemical bonds. His famous book on the nature of chemical bonds was well received by chemists and became a classic.2 On the other hand, Mulliken advanced molecular orbital theory in connection with the interpretation of the electronic spectra of small molecules3. Before World War II Paulings’s valence bond theory was more popular and influential among chemists because of its appeal to chemical intuition. However, in the long run Mulliken’s molecular orbital theory has made a much greater influence on chemistry as performance of electronic computer improved rapidly, while Pauling’s valence bond theory eclipsed. Among quantum chemists Mulliken made the most important contributions to the transformation of chemistry in the period covering from the 1920s to the 1960s. He also presented a theory on charge transfer (CT) complexes in 1952 that has become very influential in a variety of areas of chemistry.4 This theory made a particularly strong impact on Japanese Physical Chemistry.
...MoreBook Masanori Kaji; Yasu Furukawa; Hiroaki Tanaka; Yoshiyuki Kikuchi (2016) Transformation of Chemistry from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Similar Citations
Article
Russo, Arturo;
(1982)
Mulliken e Pauling: Le due vie della chimica-fisica in America
Article
Stevenson, William R., III;
(2011)
Science, the South Pole, and the Japanese Expedition of 1910--1912
Chapter
Jeremiah James;
(2016)
From Physical Chemistry to Chemical Physics, 1913-1941
Article
Krešimir Molčanov;
(2021)
Atomism of Lucretius Seen Through the Eyes of a Modern Physical Chemist
Article
Vemulapalli, G. K.;
(2008)
Theories of the Chemical Bond and Its True Nature
Article
Kikuchi, Yoshiyuki;
(2000)
Redefining academic chemistry: Joji Sakurai and the introduction of physical chemistry into Meiji Japan
Chapter
Masanori Kaji;
(2016)
The Transformation of Organic Chemistry in Japan: From Majima Riko to the Third International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products
Chapter
Yoshiyuki Kikuchi;
(2016)
San-ichiro Mizushima and the Realignment of the International Relations of Japanese Chemistry
Book
Horiuchi, Annick;
(2010)
Japanese Mathematics in the Edo Period (1600--1868): A study of the works of Seki Takakazu (?--1708) and Takebe Katahiro (1664--1739)
Book
Tomokazu Kogure;
(2021)
The History of Modern Astronomy in Japan
Article
Butler, Loren J.;
(1994)
Robert S. Mulliken and the politics of science and scientists, 1939-1946
Book
Mulliken, Robert S.;
(1975)
Selected papers. Edited by Ramsay, D.A. and Hinze, J.
Book
Mulliken, Robert S.;
(1989)
Life of a scientist. An autobiographical account of the development of molecular orbital theory, with an introductory memoir by Hund, Friedrich. Edited by Ransil, Bernard J.
Article
Nachtrieb, Norman H.;
(1975)
Interview with Robert S. Mulliken
Article
Longuet-Higgins, H.C.;
(1990)
Robert Sanderson Mulliken, 7 June 1896--31 October 1986
Chapter
Arthur Greenberg;
(2015)
James Flack Norris: His Early Contributions to Physical Organic Chemistry
Book
Manuel DeLanda;
(2015)
Philosophical Chemistry: Genealogy of a Scientific Field
Article
Black, Suzanne;
(2005)
Domesticating the Crystal: Sir Lawrence Bragg and the Aesthetics of “X-ray Analysis”
Article
Cotter, Donald;
(2008)
A Disciplinary Immigrant: Alexander Smith at the University of Chicago, 1894--1911
Article
Brock, William;
(2009)
Partington and Shilling's Specific Heats of Gases (1924). Who was Shilling?
Be the first to comment!