Lev Aleksandrovich Chugaev (16 October 1873 – 26 September 1922) was a Russian chemist. At the height of his career, he was professor of chemistry at the University of Petersburg, being the successor to

Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...

. He was active in the fields of

inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disci ...

, especially platinum group complexes, as well as organic chemistry. He is also known as Leo Aleksandrovich Tschugaeff or Tschugaev.

Contributions to coordination chemistry

Chugaev discovered that dimethylglyoxime forms a scarlet solid upon reaction with nickel(II) ions. This reaction was one of the first "spot tests" for a metal ion. An adherent to the theories of

Alfred Werner Alfred Werner (12 December 1866 – 15 November 1919) was a Swiss chemist who was a student at ETH Zurich and a professor at the University of Zurich. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1913 for proposing the octahedral configuration of ...

, Chugaev made several contributions to the chemistry of platinum. The salt t(NH₃)₅Cll₃ containing the chloropentammineplatinum(IV) ion, is called "Chugaev's salt". Other complexes prepared in his laboratory include SEt₂)₄">Diethyl_sulfide.html" ;"title="t(Diethyl sulfide">SEt₂)₄PtCl₄], [Pt(NH₃)₅OH]Cl₃, [Os(thiourea, SC(NH₂)₂)₆]Cl₃^.H₂O. Chugaev also studied complexes of hydrazine. One of his complexes, since also called Chugaev's salt, was the product of the reaction of platinum(II) salts with methyl isocyanide and hydrazine. After many decades, this compound was shown to be a carbene complex, probably the first metal carbene complex ever reported.

Contributions to organic chemistry

He discovered the Chugaev reaction during his work on thujene and terpene.

References

1873 births 1922 deaths Scientists from Moscow Deaths from typhoid fever Chemists from the Russian Empire Inventors from the Russian Empire Lenin Prize winners Russian biochemists Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University {{Russia-chemist-stub