Paul-Antoine Giguère, (January 13, 1910 – December 25, 1987) was a Canadian academic and chemist. Born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

in 1934, and a doctorate from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in 1937 under the direction of Otto Maass.In memoriam Professor Paul A. Giguère
Journal of Solution Chemistry 17, 1003 (1988) He started working in the laboratory of CIL in

Beloeil, Quebec Beloeil (; ) is city in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal, on the South Shore and is on the Richelieu River, east of Montreal. According to the official Commission de toponymie du Québec, the name is written Belœil with an oe ligat ...

and then went to work at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

with

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific top ...

. In 1941, he returned to Quebec and became a lecturer at

. He was appointed a professor in 1947 and was head of the Department of Chemistry from 1957 to 1968. His research was in

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

and

Raman spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy () (named after Indian physicist C. V. Raman) is a spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules, although rotational and other low-frequency modes of systems may also be observed. Raman sp ...

and the determination of molecular and

crystal structure In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystal, crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric pat ...

. In 1946 and 1948, he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in chemistry for the investigation of the molecular structure of

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%� ...

by infrared spectroscopy, which showed that this molecule has a skewed or nonplanar structure. In 1956 with Michael Falk, he obtained the infrared spectrum of the

hydronium ion In chemistry, hydronium (hydroxonium in traditional British English) is the common name for the aqueous cation , the type of oxonium ion produced by protonation of water. It is often viewed as the positive ion present when an Arrhenius acid is di ...

, previously believed to be too short-lived to observe a spectrum. In 1958-1959 he investigated the anomalous thermodynamic properties of ice. In 1970-75, his group observed the first

and Raman vibrational spectra of

hydrogen trioxide Trioxidane (systematically named μ-trioxidanediidodihydrogen), also called dihydrogen trioxide, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula (can be written as or ). It is one of the unstable hydrogen polyoxides. In aqueous solutions, t ...

(H₂O₃) in dilute aqueous solution. In 1976 with Sylvia Turrell, he showed that the weak acidity of

hydrogen fluoride Hydrogen fluoride (fluorane) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . This colorless gas or liquid is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often as an aqueous solution called hydrofluoric acid. It is an important feedstock i ...

is due to the formation of a tightly bound

ion pair In chemistry, ion association is a chemical reaction whereby ions of opposite electric charge come together in solution to form a distinct chemical entity. Ion associates are classified, according to the number of ions that associate with each o ...

₃O⁺·F⁻ In 1966 he proposed a novel three-dimensional arrangement of the periodic table. In 1970, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

for "his research work in physical chemistry". In 1970, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the

Université de Sherbrooke The University of Sherbrooke ( French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It ...

References

External links

list of works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giguere, Paul-Antoine 1910 births 1987 deaths Canadian physical chemists Companions of the Order of Canada Université Laval alumni McGill University alumni People involved with the periodic table Université Laval faculty