Murray Raney(October 14, 1885 – March 3, 1966) was an Americanmechanical engineerborn inCarrollton, Kentucky.He was the developer of anickelcatalystthat became known asRaney nickel,which is often used in industrial processes and scientific research for thehydrogenationof multiplecovalent bondspresent inmolecules.
Murray Raney | |
|---|---|
 Murray Raney | |
| Born | October 14, 1885 |
| Died | March 3, 1966(aged 80) |
| Known for | Raney Nickel |
Biography
editRaney was born inCarrollton, Kentucky,to William Washington Raney (1848–1929) and Katherine Wright Raney (1857–1935). Without having attendedhigh school,[1]he obtained hisbachelor's degreein mechanical engineering from theUniversity of Kentuckyin 1909. Following his graduation he became ateacherat theEastern Kentucky State Normal Collegeand was also in charge of the heating and lighting facilities there until 1910.
From 1910 until 1911 he worked in thebeaterroom of the Fort Orange Paper Company inCastleton-on-Hudson, New York.In 1911 he moved toSpringfield, Illinoisto work in the production ofsteam enginesat A. L. Ide Engine Company, where he stayed until 1913. That same year he moved to his final residence inChattanooga, Tennessee,to work for theChattanooga Railway, Light & Power Coas apowersalesman.
Raney joined the Lookout Oil & Refining Company in 1915. He was assigned to work as an assistant manager in the production ofhydrogenused in thehydrogenationofvegetable oils.It was during this time he started to work in the preparation of what later became known as "Raney" catalysts. He left Lookout Oil in 1925 to take a sales manager position at Gilman Paint and Varnish Co., eventually becoming president of the company. In 1950 he left Gilman Paint and founded the Raney Catalyst Company. He then started to dedicate full-time to the production of his catalysts. This company was bought byW.R. Grace and Companyin 1963 and still producesRaney nickelto this day.
Raney was twice married, first on June 12, 1920, to Katherine Elizabeth Macrae (1883–1935), with whom he had one daughter. His second marriage was to Laura Ogden McClellan (1898–1953) on March 31, 1939. He was awarded an honoraryDoctor of Sciencedegree in 1951. He was member of theAmerican Chemical Societyand theAmerican Oil Chemists' Society.He was granted a total of six American and fiveEuropeanpatentsfor the development of his catalysts and metallurgical processes needed for their preparation.[1]
Development of Raney nickel
editDuring his time at Lookout Oil and Refining Raney was responsible for the production of hydrogen which was used in the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. During that time the industry used a nickel catalyst prepared fromnickel(II) oxide.Believing that better catalysts could be produced, around 1921 he started to perform independent research on this matter while still working for Lookout Oil. In 1924 he produced an approximately 1:1 nickel-siliconalloywhich, after being treated withsodium hydroxideto remove the silicon, was found to be five times more active than the best catalyst used in the hydrogenation ofcottonseed oil.He was granted a US patent for this discovery in 1925.[2]To this, Raney himself said in an interview "I was just lucky... I had an idea for a catalyst and it worked the first time."[1]
In 1926 Raney produced a nickel-aluminiumalloy, also in a 1:1ratio,following a procedure similar to the one used for the nickel-silicon alloy, and he found that the resulting catalyst was even more active than the previous one. This catalyst, now commonly known asRaney nickel,was the subject of a patent he obtained in 1927.[3]
The Murray Raney Award
editIn 1992 theOrganic Reactions Catalysis Society(ORCS) created theMurray Raney Award"for contributions in the use of sponge metal catalysts in organic synthesis". The award is given out every two years at the annual ORCS conference. As of 2006[update]the following scientists have been recipients of the award:
- 1992 –Stewart Montgomery
- 1994 –Pierre Fouilloux
- 1996 –Mark Wainwright
- 1998 –Anatoly Fasman
- 2000 –Jozsef Petró
- 2002 –Akira Tai
- 2004 –Jean Lessard (chemist)
- 2006 –Isamu Yamauchi
Notes
edit- ^abcW.R. Grace & Co. (2004)History Murray RaneyArchived2006-01-10 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved December 25, 2005.
- ^Raney, Murray (1925). "Method of Preparing Catalytic MaterialArchived2006-02-25 at theWayback Machine".US Patent 1563587,issued 1925-12-01.
- ^Raney, Murray (1927). "Method of producing Finely Divided NickelArchived2006-02-25 at theWayback Machine".US Patent 1628190,issued 1927-05-10
References
edit- University of Kentucky Alumni Association (2005).UK Alumni Association - Hall of Distinguished Alumni.Retrieved December 25, 2005.
- Who's Who in the South and Southwest: a Biographical Dictionary of Noteworthy Men and Women of the Southern and Southwestern States.6th ed.Chicago:Marquis - Who's Who. 1959.
- W.R. Grace & Co. (2004)History Murray Raney.Retrieved December 25, 2005.
- W.R. Grace & Co. (2004)ORCS.Retrieved December 25, 2005.