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BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT SCIENTISTS
Zelinsky Nikolay Dmitrievich. Biography of a scientist
Directory / Biographies of great scientists
Nikolai Dmitrievich Zelinsky was born on January 25 (February 6), 1861 in the county town of Tiraspol, Kherson province. The boy's parents died early from tuberculosis, and Nikolai remained in the care of his grandmother, Maria Petrovna Vasilyeva. His first views, tastes, as well as spiritual qualities were formed under the beneficial influence of this wonderful Russian woman. For three years, Nikolai studied at the Tiraspol district school. In the spring of 1872 he graduated from college. It was necessary to think about further education, but Tiraspol did not have its own gymnasium. Of the educational institutions of the southern cities, the gymnasium in Odessa was famous. This is where Nikolai went to study. This gymnasium was a privileged educational institution, here students received the general education necessary for entering the university. In 1880, Nikolai graduated from the gymnasium and entered the natural department of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of the Novorossiysk University. Of all the subjects that Zelinsky studied in his first year, he was most interested in chemistry. Classes with students were conducted by P. G. Melikishvili, in whom Nikolai saw his older friend. He also lectured on organic chemistry, paying much attention to Butlerov's theory of chemical structure. Zelinsky asked Melikishvili to include him in the research group in order to independently perform the synthesis. He synthesized alpha-methylamino-beta-hydroxybutyric acid. In May 1884, the work was published in the Journal of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society. In the same year, Nikolai received a university diploma and was left to work at the Department of Chemistry. According to the then-existing tradition, young Russian scientists were required to undergo internships in advanced Western European laboratories. Zelinsky was also sent as a faculty scholarship holder to Germany. Taking into account the direction of scientific work at Novorossiysk University, the laboratories of I. Wislicenus in Leipzig and W. Meyer in Göttingen were chosen for the internship, where much attention was paid to theoretical organic chemistry. Meyer invited Nikolai to take part in work on the synthesis of thiophene derivatives. These studies later became part of his dissertation work. In 1888 the young scientist returned to Odessa. After passing the master's exam, he was enrolled as a privatdozent at the university and began to teach a course in general chemistry for students of the mathematical department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. Since 1890, he has been reading selected chapters of organic chemistry to undergraduates. At the same time, Zelinsky is doing a lot of scientific work. In research activities, he involves capable students who have become his faithful students and assistants. Under the guidance of N. D. Zelinsky, A. M. Bezredka, A. A. Bychikhin, S. G. Krapivin and other students, who later became famous scientists, made their first works. Zelinsky during this period continues the research begun in Germany. One after another, the scientist's articles on thiophene derivatives are published. In 1889 he presented his master's thesis "On the issue of isomerism in the thiophene series" for defense. It further developed the theoretical concepts of organic chemistry. The defense of the master's thesis took place in 1889. And Zelinsky's thoughts were already directed further. The scientist decided to study in more detail the phenomenon of stereoisomerism on a number of derivatives of limiting dibasic carboxylic acids, which, according to theory, should give stereoisomers. Zelinsky obtained derivatives of succinic, glutaric, adipic and pimelic acids by this method. He concludes that “the phenomena of stereoisomerism among carbon compounds should be recognized as a fact that really exists and those scientists who were doubtful and hostile to the possibility of the existence of structurally identical isomers. The theory of structure did not foresee such cases of isomerism ... but it was only necessary to give stereometric meaning, as something that seemed incomprehensible, took on a new and clear form, not in the least undermining the foundations of the theory of chemical structure, but, on the contrary, further developing and improving it. The dissertation was brilliantly defended in 1891. In the summer of 1891, Zelinsky received an unexpected invitation to take part in a deep-sea expedition to explore the Black Sea. During the expedition, he took samples of pounds from different depths at five different points in the Black Sea for analysis in order to find out the source of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. Zelinsky's analyzes convincingly showed that hydrogen sulfide in the sea is a product of the vital activity of special bacteria living at the bottom of the sea. In the autumn of 1893, Nikolai Dmitrievich began work at Moscow University. He headed the Department of Organic Chemistry and at the same time became in charge of the analytical and organic laboratories. Zelinsky's outstanding pedagogical abilities were fully manifested at Moscow University. Based on existing textbooks and his own rich experience, he created his original course in organic chemistry. Zelinsky read lectures on this subject simply and clearly, accompanying them with the production of numerous interesting and varied experiments. They helped students better remember and understand extensive material. Zelinsky's lectures were notable for their logical construction and skillful linking of modern theoretical views with experimental data. Along with a great scientific and pedagogical activity at the university, Zelinsky devoted a lot of time to social work outside the university. He organizes the Department of Organic Chemistry at the newly opened Moscow Higher Women's Courses in 1900 and becomes its leader. At the beginning of the century, at the suggestion of the Ministry of Finance, Nikolai Dmitrievich equipped the Central Laboratory in Moscow, from which the Institute of Chemical Reagents and Highly Pure Chemical Substances subsequently grew. In 1908, he took an active part in the organization of the people's university of A. L. Shanyavsky. Having joined the Russian Physical and Chemical Society back in 1887, Zelinsky made about one hundred and fifty reports at its meetings over the course of fifty years. In 1924, for this pedagogical activity, he was awarded a large prize to them. A. M. Butlerova. Participation in these societies gave Zelinsky the opportunity to live a full-blooded social life and at the same time continue active experimental and theoretical work in the field of organic chemistry, to identify new ways of synthesis and new patterns. Zelinsky had at his disposal a small laboratory with twelve working student places. It was in this laboratory that the scientist continued his experimental studies arising from the methods of synthesis that he had previously applied in his work on the preparation of substituted dibasic fatty acids and on the closure of heterocycles. Now he decided to try to approach the closure of the alicyclic ring and synthetically obtain the hydrocarbons contained in the oil. Zelinsky managed to solve this problem brilliantly. He synthesized over twenty-five different cycloalkanes and studied their properties and reactions characteristic of them on individual compounds. Zelinsky's subsequent studies were aimed at determining the chemical properties of hydrocarbons and developing synthetic methods for their production. They played a special role in the subsequent long-term work of the scientist on the creation of methods for oil refining and petrochemical synthesis. Zelinsky was especially interested in cyclic naphthenic hydrocarbons. One by one, cycloalkanes were synthesized in Zelinsky's laboratory. Carbon chains took on more and more bizarre outlines: three-membered cycles were followed by four-membered, five-membered and with a large number of carbon atoms. In 1905, at a meeting of the Department of Chemistry of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society, Nikolai Dmitrievich reported on the production of methylcycloheptane, and in 1906, propylcycloheptane. Another year passes, and the scientist reports the synthesis of a nine-membered cycle. Two years later, cycles of unprecedented sizes were obtained - twenty and forty carbon atoms in the ring. Work on the synthesis of cyclic hydrocarbons and their derivatives was gaining momentum. Zelinsky poses the question of expanding the laboratory to the leadership of the university. Following the example of his predecessor V. V. Markovnikov, he takes an active part in the design and then in the construction of a new building, which ended in 1905. During the events of 1904-1905, Zelinsky openly supported the revolutionary movement of student youth. When police sent to quell student unrest broke into the auditorium and attacked the students, Zelinsky defended the students. In 1911, the tsarist government again tried to interfere in the life of Moscow University. In protest, Zelinsky, together with a group of progressive professors, left the university and moved to St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, he failed to get a professorship in a higher educational institution. He was forced to work in the primitively equipped laboratory of the Ministry of Finance, deprived of his devoted employees. And yet, even in such conditions, he managed to perform a lot of significant work. The results of research on catalysis, carried out by Zelinsky in the years before the First World War, deservedly nominated him among the outstanding scientists working in the field of organic chemistry. Zelinsky's contribution to the development of heterogeneous catalysis lies primarily in the fact that he used finely divided catalysts on carrier substances (asbestos, coal) and thus achieved a significant increase in their active surface. In 1911, Zelinsky, while studying the dehydrogenation of six-membered cycles, discovered an extremely interesting phenomenon - irreversible catalysis. At the beginning of work in this direction, Nikolai Dmitrievich called the noted phenomenon "highly mysterious." But subsequent studies showed the generality of the described phenomenon for the entire class of compounds. Thus, dehydrogenation catalysis was discovered - catalytic transformations of saturated hydrocarbons, leading to the formation of unsaturated compounds due to the elimination of hydrogen, which became an independent section of catalytic chemistry and the basis of an entire oil refining industry. The scientist's new discovery - hydrogenation catalysis is a catalytic reaction of hydrogen addition to unsaturated compounds. And, finally, Zelinsky became a pioneer in the field of catalytic isomerization - the process of changing the structure of a compound in the presence of catalysts. Zelinsky's multifaceted research on organic catalysis resulted in an independent area of science and industry - biochemistry and petrochemistry. Many years have passed since the publication of Zelinsky's works on organic catalysis, but they are still a model of experiment and scientific foresight. The improvement of experimental technology today made it necessary to revise a number of provisions put forward by Zelinsky, but, nevertheless, organic catalysis as a scientific direction is still associated with the name of a remarkable scientist. Zelinsky was working in St. Petersburg when the First World War broke out. Germany was the first to use chemical weapons. When this crime became known, Zelinsky developed a special filter that protects people from high molecular weight chemical warfare agents. Despite significant opposition from the tsarist authorities and the direct hostility of corrupt officials, Zelinsky managed to save the lives of thousands of Russian soldiers with the help of a coal gas mask he invented. In 1917, Nikolai Dmitrievich was able to return to Moscow University. During the difficult years of the civil war in 1918-1919, Zelinsky developed a method for obtaining gasoline from solar oil and fuel oil. Zelinsky's subsequent work was associated with obtaining fuel and refining oil. At the same time, he continued his research, begun earlier in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Zelinsky's scientific work was unusually diverse. He studied the course of reactions under pressure, polymerization processes, rubber synthesis and catalytic processes for the conversion of hydrocarbons, dealt with practical issues of petrochemistry and the technique of absorbing gaseous toxic substances, and came to new conclusions about the nature of protein substances. Zelinsky's contribution to the theory of the origin of oil was significant. He proved experimentally that organic substances of medium or high molecular weight at a relatively low temperature can be converted into a mixture of various hydrocarbons in the presence of aluminum chloride as a catalyst. Based on this, Zelinsky suggested that oil is formed in nature if organic substances come into contact with clays for a long time in the presence of microorganisms. Based on the provisions of organic catalysis, Zelinsky conducted research on proteins and came to the logical conclusion that the hydrolysis of proteins during digestion is a catalytic process. Thus, he made an outstanding contribution to the study of the carriers of living matter - protein substances. After the Great October Socialist Revolution, Zelinsky became one of the most famous professors at Moscow University. The number of students who listened to Zelinsky's lectures was constantly growing, and the laboratories and research departments he led were expanding. Thus, after the Academy of Sciences moved from Leningrad to Moscow in 1934, Zelinsky did a great job of creating the Institute of Organic Chemistry within the system of the Academy of Sciences. Today this institute bears his name. Zelinsky's working day was very busy. In the morning he gave lectures, held laboratory classes with students, gave numerous consultations to factory engineers and employees of central departments and people's commissariats. In the afternoon, Zelinsky could be seen at the laboratory table, conducting experiments or discussing the results with employees. The interests of Nikolai Dmitrievich outside of his scientific and social activities were distinguished by their extraordinary breadth and diversity. He deeply understood and appreciated literature, music, theater. On his desktop, next to chemical journals, were volumes of Leo Tolstoy, Gogol, and Dostoevsky. His favorite composers were Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff. The scientist could often be seen in the theater, most often in the Moscow Art Theater. Nikolai Dmitrievich was able to quickly and correctly assess the real depth and dignity of his interlocutor. To the person he liked, he showed a sincere, friendly disposition, sympathy, readiness for services and help. But despite the rudeness, indiscretion and insincerity of the interlocutor, Zelinsky, although he never answered him sharply or insultingly, his restraint and silence made his interlocutor immediately feel that he was understood and appreciated according to his “merits”. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Zelinsky with a group of other leading scientists was evacuated to Northern Kazakhstan. In 1942, Nikolai Dmitrievich proposed a method for obtaining toluene based on benzene and methane. In September 1943 he returned to Moscow and took up his many duties at the university and the USSR Academy of Sciences. Despite his venerable age, the scientist continues to work actively. Research in the field of spirocyclanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, chemistry of amino acids and protein - this is the circle of his scientific interests in these years. In the autumn of 1952, the health of Nikolai Dmitrievich deteriorated sharply, and on July 31, 1953 he died. Author: Samin D.K.
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