Ipatieff, Vladimir Nikolayevich (1867–1952)

Russian-born US organic chemist who developed catalysis in organic chemistry, particularly in reactions involving hydrocarbons.

Ipatieff was born in Moscow, became an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, and studied at the Mikhail Artillery Academy in St Petersburg and in Germany at Munich, as well as a brief period in France studying explosives. He returned to Russia 1899 as professor of chemistry and explosives at the Mikhail Artillery Academy. During World War I and the Russian Revolution, he held various administrative and advisory appointments. At the age of 64, he defected to the USA. From 1931 to 1935 he was professor at Northwestern University, Illinois, and consultant to the Universal Oil Products Company, Chicago, which funded the building of the Ipatieff High Pressure Laboratory at Northwestern 1938.

In 1900 Ipatieff discovered the specific nature of catalysis in high-temperature organic gas reactions, and how using high pressures the method could be extended to liquids. He developed an autoclave called the Ipatieff bomb for heating liquid compounds to above their boiling points under high pressure. He synthesized methane and produced polyethylene by polymerizing ethylene (ethene).

In Chicago, Ipatieff began to apply his high-temperature catalysis reactions to petrol to give it a higher octane rating. Important for the production of aviation fuel during World War II, the method is still used.