The Wolff-Kishner Reduction and Related Reactions

The Wolff-Kishner Reduction and Related Reactions: Discovery and Development offers a detailed discussion of this reaction, its discoverers, and its development since its discovery. Derivative name reactions-including the Wharton and Shapiro reactions-are also discussed. The book is illustrated with examples from literature and corresponding references to the primary literature to aid further reading. It provides a comprehensive review of the century of chemistry that allows the reader to follow the development of this important synthetic reaction. In addition, it provides biographical details on the chemists who discovered and developed the reaction, thus adding a human dimension to the discussion.

• Introduces Wolff and Kishner, the discoverers of the reaction, along with Huang Ming-Long, the developer of an important modification of the reaction
• Discusses the discovery of the reaction and the way that priority for the discovery was settled between Wolff and Kishner
• Discusses, in depth, the development and usage of the reaction over the century, from its discovery, to its most recent applications and modifications in synthesis
• Includes biographical materials on the chemists responsible for major derivative name reactions based on the Wolff-Kishner reduction

Autorentext

David E. Lewis was born and educated in South Australia. He received his B.Sc. (chemistry, 1972), Ph.D. (organic chemistry, 1980) and D.Sc. (chemistry, 2012) degrees from the University of Adelaide. In 1976, he moved to the U.S. as a Research Associate at the University of Arkansas. Following temporary faculty positions at Arkansas and Illinois, Lewis pursued his independent career at Baylor University (Assistant-Associate Professor; 1981-1988) and South Dakota State University (Associate-Full Professor; 1989-1977) before moving to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1997 as Professor of Chemistry.
Lewis' research interests are in physical and synthetic organic chemistry, where his recent work has focused on the synthesis of useful molecules based on the 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide chromophore. He also has an international reputation as an expert in the history of organic chemistry in Russia. He is the author of 100 papers and books, including several Essays in the history of chemistry for Angewandte Chemie, and is the holder of 18 U.S. Patents. Lewis is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and the Royal Society of Chemistry, and is a former Chair of the Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (HIST). He was awarded the 2018 HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry, and is one of three 2019 Markovnikov Medal Laureates. His collected works in the history of chemistry were translated into Russian in 2016.

Inhalt

1. The Discoverers of the Reaction
   
   2. Discovery and Priority
   3. The First Two Decades: Mechanism and Early Use in Synthesis
   4. To the End of World War II: Expanding the Use of the Reaction
   5. After World War II
   6. The Modern Wolff-Kishner Reduction
   7. Use of the Reaction in Modern Synthesis