Cornelis Adriaan Lobry van Troostenburg de Bruyn
Encyclopedia
Cornelis Adriaan Lobry van Troostenburg de Bruyn (1 January 1857 – 23 July 1904) was a chemist
from the Netherlands.
in alcohol
ic solution, an investigation to which he several times returned, and the first results of which he published in 1904.
About this time De Bruyn went to Paris and worked for a few months in the laboratories of Charles-Adolphe Wurtz
and of Charles Friedel
, returning to Leiden in 1884, where he remained until the following year. Having been appointed as a chemist to the Government Department of Marine, his official duties naturally brought before his notice new problems,
especially those connected with the manufacture and properties of explosives, and to this work he devoted much attention for 11 years. During this period he began the study of methyl and ethyl
alcohols in the character of solvents, which led him on to the isolation of hydroxylamine
and hydrazine
. Neither of these bases
had up to this time been obtained in a free state, owing probably to the use of water as the solvent. De Bruyn found that hydroxylamine hydrochloride dissolves in about six times its weight of absolute methyl alcohol, and that when mixed with the calculated quantity of sodium methoxide
, also dissolved in methyl alcohol, sodium chloride is precipitated, and a solution of hydroxylamine is obtained.
In 1896, de Bruyn was appointed to succeed Gunning as Professor of organic chemistry
and pharmacy
in the University of Amsterdam, having declined the position of State Chemist offered to him in 1895 by the Government of the Transvaal
. He also turned down offers of a professorship from the universities of Vienna
in 1901 and Utrecht in 1902, in favor of staying in Amsterdam.
In 1884, de Bruyn married Maria Simon Thomas, daughter of H. E. Simon Thomas, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Leiden. They had two sons and two daughters.
s of dinitrobenzene, setting the stage for the discovery of Meisenheimer complex
es. In 1885 he, together with Willem Alberda van Ekenstein, discovered tautomer
ism in sugars, now known as the Lobry-de Bruyn-van Ekenstein transformation
. De Bruyn also investigated alkaloid
s and synthesized hydroxylamine
(1891) and hydrazine
(1894).
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
from the Netherlands.
Biography
De Bruyn was born on in Leeuwarden, where his father, Nicholaas Lobry van Troostenburg de Bruyn, was a physician in practice. The boy was in due time sent to the high school of the town (Hoogere Burger School), and subsequently for a year to gymnasium. In 1875 he entered the University of Leiden, and in 1883, while acting as assistant to Professor Franchimont, he produced his dissertation and obtained his doctorate. The subject of this thesis was the interaction of the three dinitrobenzenes with potassium cyanidePotassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
in alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
ic solution, an investigation to which he several times returned, and the first results of which he published in 1904.
About this time De Bruyn went to Paris and worked for a few months in the laboratories of Charles-Adolphe Wurtz
Charles-Adolphe Wurtz
Adolphe Wurtz was an Alsatian French chemist. He is best remembered for his decades-long advocacy for the atomic theory and for ideas about the structures of chemical compounds, against the skeptical opinions of chemists such as Marcellin Berthelot and Etienne Henri Sainte-Claire Deville...
and of Charles Friedel
Charles Friedel
Charles Friedel was a French chemist and mineralogist. A native of Strasbourg, France, he was a student of Louis Pasteur at the Sorbonne...
, returning to Leiden in 1884, where he remained until the following year. Having been appointed as a chemist to the Government Department of Marine, his official duties naturally brought before his notice new problems,
especially those connected with the manufacture and properties of explosives, and to this work he devoted much attention for 11 years. During this period he began the study of methyl and ethyl
alcohols in the character of solvents, which led him on to the isolation of hydroxylamine
Hydroxylamine
Hydroxylamine is an inorganic compound with the formula NH2OH. The pure material is a white, unstable crystalline, hygroscopic compound. However, hydroxylamine is almost always provided and used as an aqueous solution. It is used to prepare oximes, an important functional group. It is also an...
and hydrazine
Hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
. Neither of these bases
Base (chemistry)
For the term in genetics, see base A base in chemistry is a substance that can accept hydrogen ions or more generally, donate electron pairs. A soluble base is referred to as an alkali if it contains and releases hydroxide ions quantitatively...
had up to this time been obtained in a free state, owing probably to the use of water as the solvent. De Bruyn found that hydroxylamine hydrochloride dissolves in about six times its weight of absolute methyl alcohol, and that when mixed with the calculated quantity of sodium methoxide
Sodium methoxide
Sodium methoxide is a chemical compound, with formula CH3ONa. This colourless solid, which is formed by the deprotonation of methanol, is a widely used reagent in industry and the laboratory...
, also dissolved in methyl alcohol, sodium chloride is precipitated, and a solution of hydroxylamine is obtained.
In 1896, de Bruyn was appointed to succeed Gunning as Professor of organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
and pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
in the University of Amsterdam, having declined the position of State Chemist offered to him in 1895 by the Government of the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
. He also turned down offers of a professorship from the universities of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1901 and Utrecht in 1902, in favor of staying in Amsterdam.
In 1884, de Bruyn married Maria Simon Thomas, daughter of H. E. Simon Thomas, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Leiden. They had two sons and two daughters.
Scientific work
De Bruyn studied the three isomerIsomer
In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are many different classes of isomers, like stereoisomers, enantiomers, geometrical...
s of dinitrobenzene, setting the stage for the discovery of Meisenheimer complex
Meisenheimer complex
A Meisenheimer complex or Jackson-Meisenheimer complex in organic chemistry is a 1:1 reaction adduct between an arene carrying electron withdrawing groups and nucleophile...
es. In 1885 he, together with Willem Alberda van Ekenstein, discovered tautomer
Tautomer
Tautomers are isomers of organic compounds that readily interconvert by a chemical reaction called tautomerization. This reaction commonly results in the formal migration of a hydrogen atom or proton, accompanied by a switch of a single bond and adjacent double bond...
ism in sugars, now known as the Lobry-de Bruyn-van Ekenstein transformation
Lobry-de Bruyn-van Ekenstein transformation
In carbohydrate chemistry, the Lobry–de Bruyn–van Ekenstein transformation also known as the Lobry–de Bruyn–van-Alberda–van-Ekenstein transformation is the base or acid catalyzed transformation of an aldose into the ketose isomer or vice versa, with a tautomeric enediol as reaction intermediate....
. De Bruyn also investigated alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s and synthesized hydroxylamine
Hydroxylamine
Hydroxylamine is an inorganic compound with the formula NH2OH. The pure material is a white, unstable crystalline, hygroscopic compound. However, hydroxylamine is almost always provided and used as an aqueous solution. It is used to prepare oximes, an important functional group. It is also an...
(1891) and hydrazine
Hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
(1894).
External links
- Dutch language bio Link