Sevast’ian (or Sebastian) Moiseevich Tanatar (Севастьян Моисеевич Танатар) (Oct 7 (19) 1849,

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

–Nov 30 (Dec 13) 1917) was a Russian chemist. He was born into a family of Karaite merchants in

. When he was 14 his family moved to Simferopol, Crimea, where he graduate from the Simferopol gymnasium 3 year later. In 1867 he returned to

to attend Novorossiyskiy University (now

Odessa University Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National University ( uk, Одеський національний університет Iмені І. І. Мечникова, translit=Odeskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni I. I. Mechnykova), located in Odesa, Ukraine, i ...

), from where he graduated in 1872. In 1873—1874 he studied abroad. He later returned to

, where he achieve the rank of a Full Professor in 1896. Tanatar made several pioneering contributions to chemistry. In 1880, he showed that fumaric and

maleic acid Maleic acid or ''cis''-butenedioic acid is an organic compound that is a dicarboxylic acid, a molecule with two carboxyl groups. Its chemical formula is HO2CCH=CHCO2H. Maleic acid is the ''cis''-isomer of butenedioic acid, whereas fumaric ac ...

s, upon

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

, yield two isomeric

hydroxycarboxylic acid Hydroxycarboxylic acids are carboxylic acids containing one or more hydroxy (Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol) functional groups. They are of particular interest because several are bioactive and some are useful precursors to polyesters. The inventory ...

s, later shown to be

racemic In chemistry, a racemic mixture, or racemate (), is one that has equal amounts of left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule or salt. Racemic mixtures are rare in nature, but many compounds are produced industrially as racemates. ...

and mesotartaric acids. In 1895 he accomplished the transformation of

cyclopropene Cyclopropene is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest cycloalkene. Because the ring is highly strained, cyclopropene is difficult to prepare and highly reactive. This colorless gas has been the subject for many fundamental st ...

into

propylene Propylene, also known as propene, is an unsaturated organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CH=CH2. It has one double bond, and is the second simplest member of the alkene class of hydrocarbons. It is a colorless gas with a faint petrole ...

at high temperature. In 1898–99 he produced perborates and

percarbonate In chemistry, peroxycarbonate (sometimes peroxocarbonate) or percarbonate is a divalent anion with formula . It is an oxocarbon anion that consists solely of carbon and oxygen. It would be the anion of a hypothetical peroxocarbonic acid HO–CO� ...

s by

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...

. Tanatar also discovered compounds 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%� ...

with Na2CO (1899), Na2SO4 (1901), and other salts and with

urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important r ...

(1908). He also made significant contributions to nitrogen chemistry, such as industrial manufacturing of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

nitrous acid Nitrous acid (molecular formula ) is a weak and monoprotic acid known only in Solution (chemistry), solution, in the gas phase and in the form of nitrite () salts. Nitrous acid is used to make diazonium salts from amines. The resulting diazoni ...

and

nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...

, determination of the heat capacity and the atomic weight of

beryllium Beryllium is a chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other elements to form mi ...

, and the invention of

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...

Bibliography

* ''On the structure of fumaric and maleic acid'' (Master's thesis; Odessa 1880) * ''On the question and reasons of isomerism of fumaric and maleic acids'' (PhD dissertation; Odessa 1891) * ''Some thermochemical data for succinic and isosuccinic acids'' (''Journal of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society'', 1889, v. 21) * ''Some thermochemical data for organic acids'' (ib ., 1891, vol. 23) * ''A note on Osipov's article on the probable heat of hydration of maleic anhydride'' (ib., 1891, vol. 23) * ''The effect of water on bromosuccinic acid and its potassium salt'' (ib., 1891, 23) * ''Heat of dissolution and neutralization of alpha-dibromyropionic acid'' (ib., 1892, vol. 24) * ''Thermochemical data for beta-dibromyropionic acid'' (ib., 1892, vol. 24) * ''Two modifications of benzophenone'' ( ib., 1892, vol. 24) * ''Two modifications of chloroacetic acid'' (ib., 1892, vol. 24) * ''On two modifications of iodine chloride'' (ib., 1893, vol. 25) * ''Reaction of the formation of nitrous acid'' (ib., 1893, vol. 25) * ''On the Arrhenius theory'' (ib., 1894, vol. 26) * ''The transformation of trimethylene into propylene'' (ib., 1895, vol. 27) * ''On free nitrous acid'' (ib., 1896, vol. 28) * ''On the process of soda formation in nature'' (ib., 1896, vol. 28) * ''Decomposition products of fumaric hydroxylamine'' (ib., 1896, vol. 28) * ''Amber hydroxylamine and products of its decomposition'' (ib., 1897, v. 29) * ''To the theory of A.A. Yakovkin'' (ib., 1897, vol. 29) * ''A note on metaphosphoric acids'' (ib., 1898, vol. 30) * ''Thermochemical studies in alcoholic solutions'' (ib., 1897, vol. 29) * ''Depression some electrolytes and non-electrolytes in mixed solvents'' (ib., 1895, vol. 27) * ''Specific gravity of isomeric acids'' (ib., 1890, vol. 22) * ''Ueber Superoxide'' (''Berichte d. deutsch. Chem. Gesellschaft'', 1900) * ''Zur Frage betreffs der Umwandung des Trimethylens in Propylen'' (ib., 1899) * ''Percarbonate'' (ib., 1899) * ''Eine neue Bildungsweise der Stickstoffwasserstoffsaure'' (ib., 1899) * ''Zur Kenntniss des Hydroxylamins'' (ib., 1899) * ''Das Verhalten der Halogensauerstoffsauren dem Wasserstoffhyperoxyd gegenuber'' (ib., 1899) * ''Ueber das Verhalten der Maleinsaure beim Erhitzen'' (ib., 1894) * ''Zur theorie derischen elektration'' (''Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie'', 1894) * ''Die Losungs- und Neutralisationswarme des Nitroharnstoffes und seines Kaliumsalzes'' (ib., 1896) * ''Salzbildung in alkoholischer Losung'' (ib., 18 98) * ''Perborate und ihre Konstitution'' (ib., 1898) * ''Notiz uber Perborate'' (ib., 1898) * ''Ueber die Verbrennung de Gase'' (ib., 1900) * ''Ueber Perborate'' (''Zeitschrift fur anorgan. Chemie'', 1901) * ''Bleisuboxyd'' (ib., 1901) * ''Cadmiumsuboxyd'' (ib., 1901) * ''Wismuthsuboxyd'' (ib., 1901) * ''Cement of the water supply system of ancient Chersonesos'' (''Notes of the Novorossiysk Society'', 1893) * ''Limestone from the vicinity of Bakhchisarai, suitable for the preparation of hydraulic cement'' (ib., 1893) * ''Theory of solutions'' (Odessa, 1895), * ''A practical guide to thermochemistry'' (translation of the work of Berthelot, Odessa, 1894)

Further information

* " Танатар, Севастьян Моисеевич", Russian Wikipedia

References

* Chugaev, L. A. “Pamiati S. M. Tanatara.” In his book ''Izbr. trudy'', vol. 3. Moscow, 1962. Pages 428–29. * The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979) accessed 2021-07-10.
Значение ТАНАТАР СЕВАСТЬЯН МОИСЕЕВИЧ в Краткой биографической энциклопедии
at slovar.cc, accessed 2021-07-10 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanatar, Sebastian Moiseevich 1849 births 1917 deaths Russian chemists