Robert Thomas Sanderson (1912–1989) was an American inorganic chemist, more commonly known by the initials "R.T." found in his papers. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago for his research in

boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...

chemistry. After working in Texaco's research lab, he became a professor and spent his career on the faculties of the University of Florida, the University of Iowa, and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He also created a company supplying safety posters and lab-related artwork of his own design, and published several books including ''Vacuum Manipulation of Volatile Compounds''.

Electronegativity equalization

In 1951, Sanderson developed the idea of electronegativity equalization, stating two bonding atoms will equalize their

Mulliken electronegativity Electronegativity, symbolized as , is the tendency for an atom of a given chemical element to attract shared electrons (or electron density) when forming a chemical bond. An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the d ...

. He would later further revise his own scale of electronegativity to adhere to the 4.00 value of fluorine found in the more common

Pauling scale Electronegativity, symbolized as , is the tendency for an atom of a given chemical element to attract shared electrons (or electron density) when forming a chemical bond. An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the d ...

, as well as apply his principle to the calculation of polar covalent bonds, calculating partial charges on a number of polar inorganic compounds. His electronegativity scale was applied to generating reference information like molecular geometry, s-electron energy, and NMR spin-spin constants for organic compounds.

Electronegativity (Sanderson scale)

References

1912 births 1989 deaths Inorganic chemists University of Chicago alumni 20th-century chemists 20th-century American chemists {{US-chemist-stub