Richard Robson (chemist) explained

Richard Robson (born 4 June 1937) is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne.^[1] Robson has published over 200 articles, specialising in coordination polymers, particularly metal-organic frameworks.^[2] He has been described as "a pioneer in crystal engineering involving transition metals".^{[3] [4]}

Education

Robson was born in Glusburn in West Yorkshire in the UK, and read chemistry at the University of Oxford (BA 1959, DPhil 1962). He undertook postdoctoral research at California Institute of Technology 1962-64 and at Stanford University 1964-65, before receiving a Lectureship in chemistry at the University of Melbourne 1966-70 where he remained for the duration of his career.

Research

Richard Robson's groundbreaking research is in the field of coordination polymers, particularly in the infinite polymeric framework, later termed as Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)^[5] . His journey into this field began in 1974 when he was tasked with building large wooden models of crystalline structures for first-year chemistry lectures. In the 1990s, Robson created a new class of coordination polymers that would inspire an entirely new field of chemistry.^[6] His approach involved using copper in the oxidation state known as copper I, which has a preference for tetrahedral geometry, and mixing it with a specially designed tetranitrile organic compound. This method resulted in the creation of crystal-like scaffolds with a diamond-like structure but with significant space within the framework.

Recognition

Professor Robson is a recipient of the prestigious Burrows Award, Inorganic Division of The Royal Australian Chemical Institute 1998 and was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science 2000.^[7] In 2022 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Robson, Richard - Biographical entry - Encyclopedia of Australian Science.
2. Infinite polymeric frameworks consisting of three dimensionally linked rod-like segments. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 1989. 5962–5964. 111. 15. 10.1021/ja00197a079. EN. Bernard F.. Hoskins. Richard. Robson.
3. Book: Wise, Donald. Electrical and Optical Polymer Systems: Fundamentals: Methods, and Applications. 27 March 1998. CRC Press. 978-0-8247-0118-5. 872.
4. Book: Stuart R. Batten. Suzanne M. Neville. David R. Turner. Coordination Polymers: Design, Analysis and Application. 2009. Royal Society of Chemistry. 978-0-85404-837-3. 19.
5. Web site: Bruin . Tyler . 2023-11-24 . Professor Richard Robson elected Fellow of the Royal Society . 2024-11-25 . About us . en.
6. Web site: The man who built a whole new field of chemistry . 2024-11-25 . Pursuit . en.
7. Web site: The Burrows Award: Inorganic Division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI).
8. Web site: Outstanding Academy Fellows elected to Royal Society . 2022-05-10 . Australian Academy of Science . en.