Saul Winstein

Saul Winstein
Born(1912-10-08)October 8, 1912
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedNovember 23, 1969(1969-11-23) (aged 57)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Known forWinstein reaction
Grunwald–Winstein equation
Non-classical cation
Anchimeric assistance
AwardsACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1948)
National Medal of Science (1970)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysical Organic Chemistry
InstitutionsUCLA

Saul Winstein (October 8, 1912 – November 23, 1969) was a Jewish Canadian chemist who discovered the Winstein reaction. He argued a non-classical cation was needed to explain the stability of the norbornyl cation.[1] This fueled a debate with Herbert C. Brown over the existence of σ-delocalized carbocations. Winstein also first proposed the concept of an intimate ion pair.[2] He was co-author of the Grunwald–Winstein equation, concerning solvolysis rates.[3]

Richard F. Heck, who earlier in his career had undertaken postgraduate studies with Winstein, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[4]

  1. ^ Young, W. G.; Cram, D. J. (May 1970). "Professor Saul Winstein October 8, 1912-November 23, 1969". International Journal of Chemical Kinetics. 2 (3): 167–173. doi:10.1002/kin.550020302.
  2. ^ Winstein, S.; Clippinger, E.; Fainberg, A. H.; Heck, R.; Robinson, G. C. (January 1956). "Salt Effects and Ion Pairs in Solvolysis and Related Reactions. III.1 Common Ion Rate Depression and Exchange of Anions during Acetolysis". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 78 (2): 328–335. doi:10.1021/ja01583a022.
  3. ^ W. G. Young, D. J. Cram (1951). "The Correlation of Solvolysis Rates and the Classification of Solvolysis Reactions Into Mechanistic Categories". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 73 (6): 2700–2707. doi:10.1021/ja01150a078.
  4. ^ "The problem of the non-classical ion". Nobel Media. Retrieved 14 July 2015.