Otto WallachBorn 27 Mar 1847; died 26 Feb 1931 at age 83.German chemist awarded the 1910 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for identifying terpene compounds. His interest began began by analyzing fragrant essential oils - oils removed from plants by steam distillation, with industrial uses - and started research into determining their molecular structure. Wallach succeeded in determining the structure of several terpenes, including limonene, in 1894. He showed that terpenes were derived from isoprene, C5H8 - his isoprene rule (1887) - and therefore had the general formula (C5H8)n. Limonene is thus C10H16. Terpenes were of importance not only in the medicine and perfume industries, but also as a source of camphors. It was also later established that vitamins A and D are related to the terpenes. |
