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

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, he received a

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

degree from

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

in 1934, and a doctorate from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1937 under the direction of Otto Maass. He started working in the laboratory of CIL in Beloeil, Quebec and then went to work at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

with

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling ( ; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist and peace activist. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. ''New Scientist'' called him one of the 20 gre ...

. 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 that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

and

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

and the determination of molecular and

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

. In 1946 and 1948, he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

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 viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...

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 cation , also written as , the type of oxonium ion produced by protonation of water. It is often viewed as the positive ion present when an Arrhenius acid is dissolved in ...

, 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 (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 chemistry, inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a very poisonous, colorless gas or liquid that dissolves in water to yield hydrofluoric acid. It is the principal industrial source of fluori ...

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 ...

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 () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

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

Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...

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 Academic staff of Université Laval