DeLos F. DeTar

Last updated
DeLos F. DeTar
Born1920 (1920)
Alma mater University of Illinois
University of Pennsylvania
Known for computational chemistry
physical organic chemistry

DeLos F. DeTar (1920-2022) [1] was an American chemist known for his work in computational chemistry and physical organic chemistry.

Contents

Education and early life

DeTar was born in 1920 in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Elgin, Illinois. After his 1941 graduation from the University of Illinois, where he worked with Carl S. Marvel as an undergraduate, he was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania for graduate work. He completed a Ph.D. in chemistry under the supervision of Marvin Carmack in 1944. [2]

Career and important contributions

After working for a short time with the Dupont Company, he became a lecturer at Cornell University, followed by an eight-year stint at the University of South Carolina (where he helped form their first Ph.D. degree program in chemistry). [3] In 1961 he joined the chemistry department at Florida State University, where he remained until retiring in 1988.

During his career, DeTar wrote or co-authored 498 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of physical organic chemistry and computational chemistry between 1941 and 2007. His most cited papers were focused on reaction mechanisms [4] [5] and the properties of conformationally flexible molecules. [6] [7] In 1976, he became the founding editor of the journal Computers and Chemistry (now known as Computational Biology and Chemistry). [8]

Although DeTar retired his faculty position and was given the title of Professor Emeritus in 1988, [9] he was prolific in retirement and subsequently published 95 more papers; his last was published in 2007, in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A. [10]

Awards and honors

DeTar was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1983. [11] He also was recognized with the Florida Award by the Florida section of the American Chemical Society in 1987. [12]

Personal life

DeTar married Francis Patty Livesay in 1943. Together they had four children (Carleton, Caroline, Marvin, and Martha). Carleton was a professor of physics at the University of Utah, [13] and published at least one article together with his father. [14] The DeTars were founding members of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Columbia, South Carolina and became active members of the Tallahassee congregation. Patty died in 2003 after sixty years of marriage; DeTar then married Karlene Losey Sabin, who died in 2012.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diels–Alder reaction</span> Chemical reaction

In organic chemistry, the Diels–Alder reaction is a chemical reaction between a conjugated diene and a substituted alkene, commonly termed the dienophile, to form a substituted cyclohexene derivative. It is the prototypical example of a pericyclic reaction with a concerted mechanism. More specifically, it is classified as a thermally-allowed [4+2] cycloaddition with Woodward–Hoffmann symbol [π4s + π2s]. It was first described by Otto Diels and Kurt Alder in 1928. For the discovery of this reaction, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1950. Through the simultaneous construction of two new carbon–carbon bonds, the Diels–Alder reaction provides a reliable way to form six-membered rings with good control over the regio- and stereochemical outcomes. Consequently, it has served as a powerful and widely applied tool for the introduction of chemical complexity in the synthesis of natural products and new materials. The underlying concept has also been applied to π-systems involving heteroatoms, such as carbonyls and imines, which furnish the corresponding heterocycles; this variant is known as the hetero-Diels–Alder reaction. The reaction has also been generalized to other ring sizes, although none of these generalizations have matched the formation of six-membered rings in terms of scope or versatility. Because of the negative values of ΔH° and ΔS° for a typical Diels–Alder reaction, the microscopic reverse of a Diels–Alder reaction becomes favorable at high temperatures, although this is of synthetic importance for only a limited range of Diels-Alder adducts, generally with some special structural features; this reverse reaction is known as the retro-Diels–Alder reaction.

The Wolff–Kishner reduction is a reaction used in organic chemistry to convert carbonyl functionalities into methylene groups. In the context of complex molecule synthesis, it is most frequently employed to remove a carbonyl group after it has served its synthetic purpose of activating an intermediate in a preceding step. As such, there is no obvious retron for this reaction. The reaction was reported by Nikolai Kischner in 1911 and Ludwig Wolff in 1912.

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is a chemical reaction between a 1,3-dipole and a dipolarophile to form a five-membered ring. The earliest 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions were described in the late 19th century to the early 20th century, following the discovery of 1,3-dipoles. Mechanistic investigation and synthetic application were established in the 1960s, primarily through the work of Rolf Huisgen. Hence, the reaction is sometimes referred to as the Huisgen cycloaddition. 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is an important route to the regio- and stereoselective synthesis of five-membered heterocycles and their ring-opened acyclic derivatives. The dipolarophile is typically an alkene or alkyne, but can be other pi systems. When the dipolarophile is an alkyne, aromatic rings are generally produced.

The Wittig reaction or Wittig olefination is a chemical reaction of an aldehyde or ketone with a triphenyl phosphonium ylide called a Wittig reagent. Wittig reactions are most commonly used to convert aldehydes and ketones to alkenes. Most often, the Wittig reaction is used to introduce a methylene group using methylenetriphenylphosphorane (Ph3P=CH2). Using this reagent, even a sterically hindered ketone such as camphor can be converted to its methylene derivative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dichlorine monoxide</span> Chemical compound

Dichlorine monoxide is an inorganic compound with the molecular formula Cl2O. It was first synthesised in 1834 by Antoine Jérôme Balard, who along with Gay-Lussac also determined its composition. In older literature it is often referred to as chlorine monoxide, which can be a source of confusion as that name now refers to the ClO radical.

In organic chemistry, hydroboration refers to the addition of a hydrogen-boron bond to certain double and triple bonds involving carbon. This chemical reaction is useful in the organic synthesis of organic compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-Iodoxybenzoic acid</span> Chemical compound

2-Iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) is an organic compound used in organic synthesis as an oxidizing agent. This periodinane is especially suited to oxidize alcohols to aldehydes. IBX is prepared from 2-iodobenzoic acid, potassium bromate, and sulfuric acid. Frigerio and co-workers have also demonstrated, in 1999 that potassium bromate may be replaced by commercially available Oxone. One of the main drawbacks of IBX is its limited solubility; IBX is insoluble in many common organic solvents. In the past, it was believed that IBX was shock sensitive, but it was later proposed that samples of IBX were shock sensitive due to the residual potassium bromate left from its preparation. Commercial IBX is stabilized by carboxylic acids such as benzoic acid and isophthalic acid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Westheimer</span> American chemist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spartan (chemistry software)</span>

Spartan is a molecular modelling and computational chemistry application from Wavefunction. It contains code for molecular mechanics, semi-empirical methods, ab initio models, density functional models, post-Hartree–Fock models, and thermochemical recipes including G3(MP2) and T1. Quantum chemistry calculations in Spartan are powered by Q-Chem.

A harpoon reaction is a type of chemical reaction, first proposed by Michael Polanyi in 1920, whose mechanism involves two neutral reactants undergoing an electron transfer over a relatively long distance to form ions that then attract each other closer together. For example, a metal atom and a halogen might react to form a cation and anion, respectively, leading to a combined metal halide.

Physical organic chemistry, a term coined by Louis Hammett in 1940, refers to a discipline of organic chemistry that focuses on the relationship between chemical structures and reactivity, in particular, applying experimental tools of physical chemistry to the study of organic molecules. Specific focal points of study include the rates of organic reactions, the relative chemical stabilities of the starting materials, reactive intermediates, transition states, and products of chemical reactions, and non-covalent aspects of solvation and molecular interactions that influence chemical reactivity. Such studies provide theoretical and practical frameworks to understand how changes in structure in solution or solid-state contexts impact reaction mechanism and rate for each organic reaction of interest.

Robert George Bergman is an American chemist. He is Professor of the Graduate School and Gerald E. K. Branch Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Taft equation is a linear free energy relationship (LFER) used in physical organic chemistry in the study of reaction mechanisms and in the development of quantitative structure–activity relationships for organic compounds. It was developed by Robert W. Taft in 1952 as a modification to the Hammett equation. While the Hammett equation accounts for how field, inductive, and resonance effects influence reaction rates, the Taft equation also describes the steric effects of a substituent. The Taft equation is written as:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takai olefination</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterimol parameter</span> Parameters for molecular sterics

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References

  1. "Obituaries in Tallahassee, FL | Tallahassee Democrat". tallahassee.com. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  2. "Cooke Tree #1" (PDF). CareerChem. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  3. "DeLos Fletcher DeTar". Tallahassee.com. Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  4. DeTar, D.F.; Silverstein, R. (1966). "Reactions of Carbodiimides. I. The Mechanisms of the Reactions of Acetic Acid with Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 88 (5): 1013–1019. doi:10.1021/ja00957a027 . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. DeTar, D.F.; Luthra, N.P. (1980). "Quantitative evaluation of steric effects in SN2 ring closure reactions". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 102 (13): 4505–4512. doi:10.1021/ja00533a033 . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. DeTar, D.F.; Luthra, N.P. (1977). "Conformations of proline". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 99 (4): 1232–1244. doi:10.1021/ja00446a040. PMID   833398 . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  7. DeTar, D.F.; Tenpas, C.J. (1976). "Calculations of steric hindrance in ester hydrolysis based on estimation of van der Waals strain energies of alkanes". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 98 (15): 4567–4571. doi:10.1021/ja00431a039 . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  8. DeTar, D.F. (1976). "Editorial". Computers and Chemistry. 1 (1): 1. doi:10.1016/0097-8485(76)80001-0 . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  9. "Emerita/Emeritus Status | Office of Faculty Development and Advancement". fda.fsu.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  10. DeTar, DeLos F. (2007). "Calculation of Entropy and Heat Capacity of Organic Compounds in the Gas Phase. Evaluation of a Consistent Method without Adjustable Parameters. Applications to Hydrocarbons". Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 111 (20): 4464–4477. Bibcode:2007JPCA..111.4464D. doi:10.1021/jp066312r. PMID   17447733 . Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  11. "Historic Fellows". AAAS. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  12. "Florida Award". Florida Local Section. American Chemical Society. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  13. "Carleton DeTar". University of Utah. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  14. DeTar, DeLos F.; DeTar, Carleton E. (1966). "General Computer Techniques for Evaluating the Time-Concentration Relationships Predicted by Reaction Mechanisms, Including Complex Enzyme Mechanisms". Journal of Physical Chemistry. 70 (12): 3842–3847. doi:10.1021/j100884a016 . Retrieved 1 July 2022.