PROGRESS OF SOVIET CHEMISTRY IN THE STALIN PERIOD

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• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310277-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 12, 2011
• Sequence Number: 277
• Publication Date: May 17, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION SECRET SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Scientific - Chemistry
HOW
PUBLISHED Bimonthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED Jan/Feb 1950
LANGUAGE
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IINiiI.ITn LAW liiPIOIUCTloi 0, TMli OIU IS MYMIIITIS. IS '
Us9 khi Khimit. Vol XIX, No 1, 1950.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1949
DATE DIST. May 1950
NO. OF PAGES 11
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
PROGRESS OF SOVIET CHEMISTRY IN THE STALIN PERIOD
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/The following information was taken from two articles in the Jan-
uary/February 1950 issue of Uspekhi Khimii: "Soviet Chemistry Dur-
ing the Stalin Period," by M. M..Dubinin, and "Stalin Prize Laure-
ates in Chemistry in the Decade Since the Founding of the Prize,"
by S. V. Kaftanov_7
In the first years after the revolution many important scientific in-
stitutes were founded in the USSR. These included the Physicochemical In-
stitute imeni L..Ya. Karpov, the State optical Institute, and the Institute
of Fertilizers. The work of existing scientific institutes and universities
was expanded. The number of technical and scientific personnel available to
the industry was greatly increased.
Within the scope of the First Five-Year Plan (1928 - 1933) and as a se-
quel to various decisions made by the government and the Party, chemical pro-
duction centers of the greatest magnitude came into being in the Moscow, Len-
ingrad, Gor'kiy, Volga, Donbass, and Ural regions, and in the borderlands.
The Beresnikov, Solikamsk, Khibinsk, and other combines grew and developed.
Large sulfuric acid plants and plants for the production of fertilizers, salts,
and many other chemical products were founded. In 1932 the first full-scale
plant for the production of synthetic rubber by S. V. Lebedev's process was
started. This general development continued during the period of the Second
Five-Year Plan (1933 - 1937).
The Third Five-Year Plan (1938 - 1942) was announced as the "Chemical
Five-Year Plan." Although successful fulfillment of the plan was interrupted
by Hitler's invasion, the chemical and industrial personnel proved equal to
the strain imposed by the emergency: the necessary chemical products were
supplied to war industry and to the army. For that purpose the creation of
many new defense industries became necessary. During the war scientific chem-
ical research did not cease.
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The development of inorganic chemistry after the revolution was closely
connected with the rapid growth of industries producing acids, alkalies, salts,
metals, and inorganic fertilizers. During the period of the Stalin five-year
plans these industries acquired a reliable raw materials base.
In the field of physicochemical methods, N. S. Kurnakov concentrated on
a study of the theoretical concept of the individual chemical compound and
the resulting practical applications. He devised a new method of physico-
chemical analysis for the study of chemical equilibrium by means of physical
and geometrical procedures. By establishing the essential unity underlying
diagrams of state and diagrams of composition, he developed a fruitful method
for the discovery and investigation of new compounds.
Kurnakov organized the Institute of Physicochemical Analysis at Leningrad,
and later the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry in Moscow. There
and at other institutes (the Institutes of Applied Chemistry, High Pressures,
and Halurgy at Leningrad, and the Institutes of Mineral Raw Materials and of
Fertilizers and Insectofungicides at Moscow), extensive work on physicochem-
ical methods and the chemical equilibrium was carried out. The last-mentioned
institute has solved problems in connection with the total utilization of phos-
phorite and apatite deposits and has done a considerable amount of work on the
conversion of other types of mineral raw materials. Kurnakov's own institutes
have worked on the utilization of salt lake brines and of the Solikamsk potas-
sium deposits.
From the viewpoint of military applications in World'War II, Kurnakov's
investigations led to the successful development of new metal alloys used in
armament. The science of metal alloys in general has been considerably ad-
vanced by his methods, based on the geometrical interpretation of the phase
rule combined with the application of topology to the study of chemical changes,
the study of metal alloys on the basis of property-composition diagrams, and
the possibility of distinguishing thereby between various chemical compounds
and phases of an intermediate type. The work on metal alloys started by Kurn-
akov has been considerably expanded.
In the field of geochemistry, the names of V. I. Vernadskiy and Academi-
cian A. K. Fersman are most prominent. In fact, the new discipline of geo-
chemistry, which deals with the application of energetics and thermodynamics
to the study of processes leading to the formation of minerals and their dis-
tribution in the earth crust was founded by these two investigators. As for
practical applications, Fersman deserves credit for the development of apatite-
nepheline and metal ore deposits of the Kola Peninsula.
Extensive investigations on the chemistry and technology of rare and radio-
active elements have been carried out in the Soviet Union. After 3 years of re-
search, the first radium preparations were obtained in 1921 by V. G. Khlopin
and the group working under his direction. In 1922 the State Radium Institute
was founded. IGhlopin's work on radioactive elements dealt with the conditions
under which a real (thermodynamic) equilibrium of the microcomponent is estab-
lished with regard to its distribution between the crystalline solid phase and
the solution, and with the use of radioactive tracer elements in the study of
the replacement of ions of various valencies by their isomorphs. He studied
questions having a bearing on the application of isomorphous replacement tech-
niques and relationships in the development of methods for the fixation of un-
stable compounds in the solid phase and their characterization.
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Khlopin and his collaborators established that a microcomponent which is
isomorphous with the solid phase is distributed between this phase and the
solution according to the law for the distribution for a solute between two
imiscible solvents. He also showed that multiple recrystallization of the
solid phase takes place before a real equilibrium has been reached, and that
this process of recrystallization replaces diffusion in the solid phase,
which does not occur at low temperatures. With crystals of submicroscopic
size this recrystallization proceeds very rapidly.
Khlopin and B. A. Nikitin used radioactive tracers in investigations of
a new type of mixed crystals, the so-called Grimm crystals. There is a dif-
ference between ordinary mixed crystals, as defined by Mitscherlich, and
Grimm crystals in which simple replacement is impossible. In the latter,
whole lattice areas of the components must be replaced. Mixed crystals of
this type do not form when the concentration of one of the components falls
below a certain limit. Khlopin concluded from this that isomorphous sub-
stances must be classified from the viewpoint of the dynamics of formation
of isomorphous mixtures.
In studying the adsorption of isomorphous ions on the surface of crystal-
line precipitates, :Uilopin proved that the adsorption equilibrium is estab-
lished in the majority of cases within 20 to 30 minutes, and that the adsorp-
tion of isomorphous ions does not depend on the adsorbent's surface charge
unless there is a change in the solubility of the latter. Khlopin proposed
a formula for the determinaticn of the surface of crystalline precipitates
by the method of adsorbing an isomorphous ion on that surface. He also de-
vised new methods of fractional crystallization.
Khlopin has obtained valuable results in the chemistry of polonium; in
general, he has concentrated on work in the field of radioactive elements,
particularly their purification, enrichment, and separation.
Of considerable interest are the investigations of A. A. Grinberg in the
field of coordination compounds. Some of his results are summarized in the
monograph, "Introduction to the Chemistry of Coordination Compounds," pub-
lished in 1945. The main subdivision of Grinberg's investigations are the
stereochemistry of coordination compounds, basic and acidic properties of plat-
inum coordination compounds, oxidation and reduction of platinum coordination
compounds, the nature of bonds in coordination compounds, and their thermal
stability. Grinberg's experimental results confirm Werner's theory on com-
pounds having the coordination number 4. Using methods based on the inter-
action of isomers with substituents capable of cyclization, Grinberg was able
to contribute to the technique of determining the configuration of coordina-
tion compounds.
His work on the acidity, basicity, and oxidation-reduction processes has
broadened the understanding of complex ions in solution, thereby clarifying
the nature of chemical equilibrium. The work on coordination compounds done
by L. A. Chugayev and collaborators at the Leningrad Institute for the Study
of Platinum and Other Noble Metals was continued after his death at the In-
stitute of General and Inorganic Chemistry in Moscow. This group of investi-
gators discovered the predominant effect of the trans-substituent on the re-
activity of any one substituent in a coordination complex, and applied this
relationship to the synthesis of coordination compounds.
Considerable progress in the field of rare'elements has been achieved in
the USSR. As a result of research carried out during the five-year plan, all
technically useful rare el"ments are now being produced In the USSR by tech-
nological methods which in numerous instances are superior to those applied
abroad. The investigations of A. V. Novoselova in this particular field are
considered outstanding.
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The heavy inorganic industry (acids, bases, salts, and fertilizers) has
developed considerably as a result of prospecting and research done during the
period under consideration. During the period 1928 - 1937 it became possible
to export apatites, potassium salts, and other ores and minerals, and to dis-
continue imports in these classifica?,ions. The total industrial conversion of
apatites with the utilization of all by-products has already been mentioned.
The discovery of the largest deposits in the world of potassium, sodium, and
magnesium (sylvanite and carnallite) in the Solikamsk region has given a boost
to the production of concentrated potassium fertilizers combined with the man-
ufacture of valuable by-products (magnesium, chlorine, bromine, alkalies, etc.).
The discovery and utilization of deposits of boron, sulfur, arsenic, fluorine,
and other minerals must also be noted.
A nitrogen industry of great capacity and potential was created to supply
the country with nitrogen fertilizers. World War II showed that there was no
lack of military explosives based on products of industrial nitrogen fixation.
Soviet scientists and engine.rs have developed new methods for the production
of nitric acid and its derivatives and have proposed new catalysts for the syn-
thesis of ammonia. In this connection, the Soviet heavy machine and chemical
apparatus construction industries have successfully accomplished the task of
supplying high-pressure equipment.
A good example of the practical usefulness of work done by Soviet chem-
ists is the intensification of sulfuric acid production. As early as 1928 -
1937 the per-cubic-meter yield of sulfuric acid towers could be increased by
a factor of 2-3, thus surpassing the highest productivity indexes of foreign
enterprises. High increases in productivity could also be achieved in other
branches of inorganic industry.
New branches of the silicate industry producing refractories, acid-resist-
ant materials, insulators, optical glass, and new types of building materials
were created.
Although insecticides and fungicides are not, strictly speaking, inorganic
compounds, they are classified with fertilizers as agricultural chemicals.
Some new Soviet insectofungicides are organoelemental substances which are al-
most universally toxic to insect pests and diseases of plants, as well as to
insects which transmit these diseases.
Stimulated by the electrification of the country, electrochemical and
electrothermic industries developed rapidly.
Insofar as individual achievements are concerned, work done under the di-
rection of I. P. Bardin culminated in the introduction of the open-hearth pro-
cess with the use of oxygen. S. M. Voronov developed two new aluminum alloys
for forging and die stamping. He also devised new methods of heat treatment.
S. I. Vol'fkovich and collaborators developed a technological process for the
total conversion of phosphate minerals resulting in the following products:
phosphate fertilizers, nitrogen fertilizers, sodium fluorosilicate, and rare
earths. S. D. Stupnikov, i. N. Kuz'minykh, and K. M. Malin have been prom-
inent iu developing and introducing methods for the intensification of sulfuric
acid production.
After the October Revolution a number of physicochemical institutes were
founded in the USSR. Among these are the Physicochemical Institute imeni L. Ya.
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Karpov, the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences USSR,
the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences Ukrainian SSR,
and the physicochemical laboratories attached to organizations such as the Op-
tical Institute and the All-Union Institute of Aviation Materials. Research
in physical chemistry has been marked by an emphasis on reaction
achieved and
surface phenomena because of the practical importance of results
these fields. In recent years a considerable amount of work has been done on
the physical chemistry of high molecular compounds.
Outstanding work on the photochemical activation of aromatic compounds
was done by A. N. Terenin, who also launched a new technique for investigat-
ing spectroscopically high pressure reactions. V. N. Kondrat'yev has been
active in the spectroscopic investigation of reaction kinetics and interme-
diate products (radicals) occurring in reactions. The results of many years
of work in the field of reaction kinetics were summarized in his "Spectro-
scopic Study of Gas Reactions."
Research in the electrochemical field has been done by A. N. Frumkin.
The following results obtained by him are noteworthy: In regard to the struc-
ture of the electric double layer, precise capacity values could be obtained
for the first time and the diffuse nature of the layer proved experimentally.
Investigation of the adsorption of electrolytes on carbon and platinum dis-
closed that there is an extensive region of adsorption phenomena involving
dependence of the adsorption of electrolytes on the formation of an electric
double layer on the surface of the solid adsorbent submerged in the electro-
lyte solution. The adsorption is determined by the magnitude of the potential
jump across the dividing surface.
In the field of surface phenomena, P. A. Rebinder introduced new concepts
characterizing properties of solids. In the course of Rebinder's work, new
effects in the mechanical treatment of solids which are caused by surface lay-
ers and the addition of small quantities of surface active compounds were dis-
covered. The effects in question are of considerable importance in mechanical
deformation and mechanical working.
S. Z. Roginskiy's work on catalysts is worthy of attention. The results
of his work demonstrate the presence of microcomponents acting as promoters
in supposedly pure, one-component catalysts. He also formulated for the first
time a rational theoretical basis for the preparation of catalysts by estab-
lishing that supersaturation of topochemical stages of the genetic f9enerat-
ingY7 reaction must take place for high activity to be achieved. Roginskiy's
work is of practical value in that his results can be used for the improve-
ment of industrial catalysts.
I. P. Krichevskiy, P. V. Bol'shakov, and D. S. Tsiklis have done outstand-
ing work on the heterogenous equilibrium at high pressures. All standard text-
books of physical chemistry and treatises on the phase rule state that in a
system in the equilibrium state several solid and liquid phases may exist, but
only one gaseous phase is possible. In studying the effect of changing pres-
sures on an ammonia-nitrogen mixture, Krichevskiy found that at pressures
amounting to several thousand atmospheres separation into two phases takes
place. The two phases have approximately the same density, but one of them
contains more ammonia than the original mixture, and the other more nitrogen.
To prove that two gaseous phases are present, it was necessary to exceed the
critical temperature of ammonia, 133 degrees centigrade. In view of the fact
that at a temperature of 148 degrees centigrade and at a pressure of 10,000 at-
mospheres there is still separation into two phases, no doubt is possible in
regard to the actual coexistence of two gaseous phases.
A. I. Brodskiy has worked since 1934 in the field of isotopes and has
achieved considerable success in the development of new methods and applica-
tions to scientific research.
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Ya. K. Syrkin has worked on the constitution of boron-hydrogen compounds,
dipole moments, dielectric constants of polar liquids, and the nature of the
chemical bond. Syrkin and collaborators have determined more than 200 dipole
moments of organic molecules. The results of these investigations are collated
in the monograph, "The Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules."
I. B. Grebenshchikov has done work on the physical chemistry of glass. His
investigations are of importance from the point of view of national defense.
Of great interest are the investigations carried out by N. N. Semenov and
In. B. Zel'do.-ich in the field of chain reactions and the theory of combustion
and explosion. In the course of these investigations a general theory which
rernits the calculation of chain mechanisms having any number of centers was
developed. The interrelationships of chains and the combustion of initial ma-
terials can be taken into account in these calculations. On the basis of this
theory, calculations of the oxidation of hydrogen and of the propagation of
cold flame in various carbon disulfide-air mixtures could be carried out. These
two investigators developed methods for the investigation of chemical properties
of intermediate products without separating the latter from the reaction mixture.
They created a theory of propagation and containment of hot flames, permitting
calculation of the rate of flame propagation on the basis of known data of re-
action kinetics. They also developed methods for the calculation of explosion
rates on the basis of reaction kinetics in the explosion wave and proposed a
general theory of rapid flames and explosion initiation.
Important investigations carried out by M. M. Dubinin on the adsorption of
gases, vapors, and dissolved substances must also be noted. His investigations
of the ultrafine structure of sorbents have contributed to knowledge of the
structure of solid surfaces. In practice, Dubinin's work has helped to solve
many problems in connection with the recovery of volatile solvents, means of de-
fense against chemical warfare agents, and the production of industrial adsorb-
ents.
Soviet organic chemistry has developed in connection with the growth of
the coal and petroleum industries and the utilization of forests and agricul-
tural resources. The highest development may be noted in various branches of
heavy and fine synthetic organic chemicals, the chemistry of motor fuels, and
the production of high molecular compounds. During the five-year plans the
following industries were substantially created, where none had existed before:
synthetic rubber, heavy organic chemical production on the basis of cracking of
gases, carbon monoxide, acetylene, motor fuels industry (catalytic cracking and
other methods of crude petroleum conversion), and many others.
The work of N. D. Zelinskiy and his school had the greatest impact on the
petroleum industry. Zelinskiy concentrated on transitions from one class of
hydrocarbons to another and the utilization of hydrocarbons which were mistak-
enly regarded as unreactive. The synthesis of aromatics from petroleum raw
materials and cyclization of open-chain hydrocarbons in general were accom-
plished on a practical scale lue largely to studies of hydrogenation and dehy-
drogenation carried out by Zelinskiy and others. Zelinskiy for many years has
also worked on the synthesis of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, acids, and other
organic compounds from petroleum raw materials. His work on catalytic crack-
ing must also be regarded as significant. Zelinskiy's invention of the gas
mask saved thousands of lives during World War I. The activated carbon pro-
posed and investigated by him is still the basic protective substance against
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chemical warfare agents developed by all armies. Zelinskiy has also worked
on many other subjects; there is hardly a field of chemistry upon which he has
not touched during nearly 70 years of activity.
Quite outstanding also in the field of organic chemistry is the work of
V. M. Rodionov, who carried out two main series of investigations, one on al-
kylation reactions and the other on the chemistry of beta-amino acids. The
first line of investigation was launched by Rodionov nearly 25 years ago and
was substantially completed by his work on the interaction of dialkyl anilines
with aryl dicarboxylic acids in 1943. In 1920 it occurred to Rodionov that
a by-product of saccharin production, p-toluene sulfonic acid chloride, could
be used in preparing a superior methylating agent. His investigations in the
field of beta-amino acids, in the course of which he developed a classical
synthesis for this type of compound, were started in 1925 and completed in
1943, resulting in a final publication in that year. Rodionov has also worked
on nitrogen heterocycles.
A. N. Nesmeyanov's work in the field of organometallic (or, more correctly,
organoelemental) compounds continues a long-term trend in Soviet organic re-
search, which traditionally concentrated on this class of substances. This in-
vestigator developed an excellent method for the synthesis of mercury organic
and other organometallic compounds by the decomposition of double diazonium
metal salts in the presence of reducing agents. By investigating the replace-
ment of metal atoms in organometallic compounds with other metals, Nesmeyanov
opened up extensive synthetic possibilities in this field. He has studied the
addition of metal salts and nonmetal halides to unsaturated compounds and has
also worked on fluoro-organic compounds, devising a method for the synthesis
of acid fluorides, particularly formic acid fluoride. Nesmeyanov's work on
metal carbonyls and in other fields of practical and theoretical organic chem-
istry must also be mentioned. K. A. Kocheshkov collaborated with Nesmeyanov
in editing the series of monographs, "Synthetic Methods in the Field of Organo-
metallic Compounds."
Kocheshkov's contributions to the field of organometallic compounds are
also extensive and valuable. He has worked on organic compounds of lithium,
sodium, magnesium, zinc, mercury (to some extent), silicon, tin, lead, antimony,
and bismuth, and also on molybdenum and wolfram carbonyls. He concentrated
particularly on elements of the fourth group. For lead compounds, he developed
methods to synthesize aromatic derivatives which contain both lead and important
functional groups in the nucleus. This has made it possible to avoid limita-
tions inherent in the synthesis by means of alloys or organomagnesium compounds.
The following methods which enabled Kocheshkov to synthesize new types of
lead organic compounds must be noted: reactions with salts of quadrivalent
lead, disproportiouations leading to highly arylated lead compounds, interaction
of lead powder with organic lithium compounds, reactions leading to lead organic
compounds containing a carboxylic group in the radical, etc. Kocheshkov has
also done significant work on tin organic compounds. By means of a reversed
disproportionation, Kocheshkov obtained compounds of the type RSnX , which are
of fundamental importance for the characterization of tin in the piriodic sys-
tem of elements. He synthesized tetraaryl derivatives of tin containing func-
tional groups in aromatic nuclei. Kocheshkov has made valuable contributions
to branches of chemistry which form the basis for the solution of fundamental
industrial problems.
A. D. Petrov has considerably advanced the industrial chemistry of motor
fuels, particularly the synthesis of high-octane fuels. A series of his in-
vestigations deals with the selective hydropolymerization of acetylene under
formation of isobutylene, isohexenes, and isooctenes, the isomerization of nor-
mal olefins into isoolefins, and the synthesis of a number of higher, hitherto
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unknown aliphatic and cyclic hydrocarbons. Petrov's synthesis of isobutylene
from acetylene-hydrogen mixtures is a reaction which has important applica-
tions in the production of antiknock fuels and high polymer compounds. The
new method of acetylene conversion will be applied practically in the near fu-
ture, increasing the industrial potential and stimulating the production of
calcium carbide. Petrov has demonstrated the possibility of increasing the
degree of branching of olefins, and has successfully converted normal hexene
into the maximally branched 2,3-dimethylbutene. A number of his investiga-
tions on the synthesis of hydrocarbons containing from nine to 24 carbon atoms
have filled a hitherto-existing gap. The significance of the investigations
in question is that the dependence of antiknock properties, congelation points,
and viscosities on the constitution of hydrocarbons could be clarified. On
the basis of these results, it has become possible to synthesize high-quality
fuels and lubricants for Diesel and rocket engines.
The research of Yu. K. Yur'yev, published in the monograph "Transforma-
tion of Oxygen Heterocycles into Cycles Containing Other Heteroatoms or into
Hydrocarbons," is of considerable interest. It occurred to Yur'yev that a
connection between derivatives of furan, phrrole, and thiophene exists and
that interconversion over the furan derivative may be assumed. He could ex-
perimentally confirm this hypothesis by establishing that furan reacts in the
presence of aluminum oxide with ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrogen sele-
nide under formation of pyrrole, thiophene, and selenophene, respectively.
This reaction with the use of appropriate catalysts was successfully applied
to tetrahydrofuran and tetra.hydropyran. It is apparently applicable to all
oxygen heterocycles, provided that a compound having reactive hydrogen atoms
(this includes acetylene) is used as the second reagent.
P. V. Zimakov has specialized in the chemistry of ethylene oxide. In
1931 he discovered a new reaction of ethylene oxide with hydrogen sulfide.
His research laid the basis for the production of diethylene glycol, triethy-
lene glycol, and cellosolves. He solves in a highly original manner the prob-
lem of the technical conversion of propylene oxide into allyl alcohol. He
has also studied the polymerization of ethylene oxide and succeeded in find-
ing a method for stabilizing this product so that explosions are prevented.
G. P. Men'shikov has isolated two new alkaloids and established that
they are derivatives of a new heterocycle, heliotridan, which forms the struc-
tural basis of many alkaloids.
Work of great importance has been accomplished by I. N. Nazarov. The re-
sults of his investigations were reported in two series of papers, "Acetylene
Derivatives" and "The Chemistry of Vinylethinyl Carbinols." Nazarov discov-
ered methods for the synthesis of various dienine hydrocarbons, vinylallyl
ketones, and divinyl ketones. He developed to a considerable extent the chem-
istry of these unsaturated ketones and demonstrated that they can be trans-
formed into oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur heterocycles, and also into isocyclic
five-membered rings. He studied complex polycyclic systems and devised a new
and very simple method for the synthesis of the most diverse alicyclic com-
pounds. By hydrogenating dialkylvinylethinyl carbinols, Nazarov obtained the
most interesting conjugated diene alcohols and studied their chemical trans-
formations and isomerization, comparing the properties of the products with
those of corresponding alcohols serving as starting materials. Nazarov's work
led to the synthesis of complicated physiologically active compounds of the al-
kaloid and steroid class with the aid of methods of acetylene chemistry.
A. Ye. Arbuzov is best known for his work on phosphorus organic compounds,
a field in which he has carried out investigations of fundamental importance.
He investigated the behavior of phosphorus acid and its derivatives, because
phosphorus acid represents the classical type of tautomerism involving the
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shift of a proton between two adjacent atoms bound together, i.e., is an ex-
ample of the simplest type of tautomerism. Arbuzov published a number of
papers on the rearrangement of phenylphosphinous esters, a rearrangement which
he discovered and which is named after him. In this connection, he discovered
the catalytic effect of tertiary amines and investigated cases of isomeriza-
tion taking place in the absence of alkyl halides.
In the field of fluoro-organic compounds, which is of great practical im-
portance, I. L. Knunyants accomplished the synthesis of many fluoro deriva-
tives containing functional groups, such as fluorohydrines, fluoroketones,
fluorine-substituted acids and derivates, fluoroamines, etc. These syntheses
are based on the action of hydrogen fluoride on olefin oxides. More than 50
fluorine compounds have been synthesized by this investigator.
Valuable from the viewpoint of practical applications is the work done
by K. A. Andrianov and his collaborator, 0. I. Gribanova, on silicon organic
cc.apounds.
A. Ye. Favorskiy and M. F. Shostakovskiy have developed a universally
applicable method for the preparation of alkyl and arylvinyl ethers by the in-
teraction of alcohols with acetylene at 150-180 degrees centigrade in the pres-
ence of caustic alkali. This reaction, which was discovered by Favorskiy, is
carried out under pressure. The presence of an inert gas is not necessary,
Vinyl ethers and their polymers are used as additives increasing the viscosity
of lubricating oils and in medicine. An important application of vinyl ethers
is their utilization as intermediate products.in the production of acetic al-
dehyde by hydration. Shostakovskiy has done a considerable amount of work on
vinyl ethers, continuing Favorskiy's investigations in the field of unsaturated
compounds. Mainly as a result of the work done by Favorskiy and his school and
as a consequence of the discovery of the fundamental reaction by Favorskiy, a
great number of acetylene derivatives became accessible. Some types of syn-
thetic rubber, high molecular compounds, film-forming substances, high viscos-
ity additives modifying the properties of lubricating oils, and other valuable
products could be synthesized over acetylene. Sovi.t organic research has de-
veloped this branch of chemistry on a broad scale.
S. S. Medvedev's work lies in the field of polymerization and polyconden-
sation. His investigations on the mechanism of polymerizations induced by
peroxides and peroxides combined with other substances (ketones, aldehydes,
amines, and nitro derivatives) have led to a clear understanding of the first
stage of polymerization. It could be shown that contrary to the accepted view
peroxides are not catalysts, properly speaking, but have the properties of in-
itiators. In other words, the decomposition energy of peroxides is utilized
by the polymerization system. In this sense the action of peroxides is simi-
lar to that of light. Medvedev established that the polymerization of such
vinylic compounds as vinyl acetate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, or vinyl ni-
trile is a homogeneous process, while in the polymerization of dienes, e.g.,
chloroprene or butadiene, the action of the wall plays an essential role. Med-
vedev also investigated two-component copolymerizations, including the systems
divinylchloroprene, divinylnitriles, divinylstyrene, and acrylic ester - metha-
crylic ester, paying particular attention to the copolymerization of divinyl
with acrylic acid nitrile.
Linear polycondensations were studied by V. V. Korshak, who tried to get
away from the purely empirical, hit-and-miss methods applied formerly in this
important field. Korshak showed experimentally that the most important factor
determining the degree of polycondensation is the mutual proportion of starting
materials or, to be more exact, the mutual ratio of active functional groups
in the starting materials. In this connection, he proposed the use of the co-
efficient of equivalency as a constant which characterizes the process of
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polycondensation. He further showed that destructive reactions are caused by
the action of the initial substances on the condensation products. As a re-
sult of these destructive reactions, condensation is limited and a uniform
product results.
A. P. Terent'yev made the interesting and somewhat unexpected observa-
tion that pyridine-sulfur trioxide is capable of sulfonating substances which
resinify under the action of acids. Terent'yev obtained sulfoiiic acids of
many acid-sensitive substances, which he dubs "acidophobic." Included in this
class of substances are thiophene, furan, pyrrole, indole, coumarone, some of
the derivatives of the above, and a number of unsaturated compounds of the ali-
phatic and other series.
B. A. Kazanskiy has done outstanding work on the catalytic conversion of
hydrocarbons. His work was concerned with the catalytic hydrogenation of cy-
clopentane ant its derivativesunder.)pening of the ring and with the catalytic
aromatizatioi, of paraffin hydrocarbons. The first reaction was studied by him
quantitatively. Data which permits defining the influence of the constitution
and structure of hydrocarbons on their transformation into aliphatics were ob-
tained in the course of this work. The synthesis of 1, 2, 3 trimethyl-cyclo-
pentane by cyclization and subsequent conversion of the intermediate unsat-
urated ketone must be noted particularly. Three stereoisomers of the final
product could be isolated. A. V. Koperina collaborated. in the synthesis. Ka-
zanskiy has also worked on the cyc]ization of paraffins having a quaternary
carbon atom, and thereby clarified the mechanism of paraffin hydrocarbon aroma-
tization on platinum catalysts.,
In the conversion of hydrocarbons into valuable products of other types,
the successful utilization of cracking gases in the USSR must not be passed over.
The industrial application of syntheses of ethylene oxide, ethylene chlorohy-
drin, and ethylene glycol from ethylene and of acetone and isopropyl alcohol
from propylene may be mentioned in that connection. Unsaturated by-products of
cracking have served as material for the study of isomerization, alkylation,
and polymerization, with the result that valuable motor fuels, lubricating oils,
electrical insulation materials, and other products are being synthesized on an
industrial scale.
Among those who have worked for many years in the field of petroleum chem-
istry is S. S. Nametkin.
An account of recent progress in Soviet organic chemistry would not be com-
plete without the name of A. Ye.. Poray-Koshits, who has done outstanding work
in the field of dyestuff chemistry.
A. N. Bakh, V. A. Engel'gart, M. P. Lyubimova, A. E. Braunshteyn, and S. S.
Petrov are the most prominent investigators in the field of biochemical research.
A. N. Bakh has worked on respiration and biological oxidation catalysts.
His work is not only theoretical, but has also influenced various technologies
based on raw material of biological origin. Among these the drying of grain,
baking, production of tea, and the tobacco and wine industries may be listed.
Bakh is a founder of the Physicochemical Institute imeni Karpov and of the Bio-
chemical Institute of the Academy of Sciences USSR. He is a permanent director
of the latter.
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A. E. Braunehteyn and M. G. Kritsman discovered a new fundamental trans-
formation of amino acids, the intermolecular transamination.
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