John D. RobertsBorn 8 Jun 1918. John Dombrowski Roberts is an American chemist who has been a leading innovator in the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Chemical and Engineering News listed him as one of the 75 most influential chemists in the 75 years up to the 1998 publication date. His interests have included unravelling the mechanisms of organic reactions and the chemistry of small-ring compounds. He applied NMR in studies of conformations, the arrangement in space of the atoms bonded in a molecule, and how that is altered by interactions with neighboring atoms, by electrostatic, hydrogen-bonding and solvent effects. As some molecules can exist in more than one spatial arrangement, and switch between them, an equilibrium between them can be observed. This knowledge helps understand how reactions with approaching molecules can proceed, or be hindered.« |
