Mikhail Kucherov: “The experiment confirmed my hypothesis”

Named reactions are key points in the development of chemistry. Any competent chemist easily identifies the reaction named after Wittig, or Grignard, Diels‐Alder, or Friedel‐Crafts, Michael, or Favorsky. But how much do we can say about scientist who discovered it? The article is devoted to the transition‐metal‐catalyzed hydration of acetylenic hydrocarbons discovered by Russian chemist Mikhail Kucherov. In chemistry this reaction is one of the most straightforward methods for the synthesis of carbonyl compounds. In industry for a long time the acetaldehyde was essentially manufactured from accessible unsaturated raw materials – acetylene. Finally, this reaction is one of the first steps in the establishment of homogenous metal complex catalysis in the organic synthesis. Here, we briefly described the history of this discovery and the role of many scientists in the development of research in this field. We would like to show the moral views of Dr. Kucherov, and the life of the Russian scientists of the latter half of the 19th century.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2sdGu7V