Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev, Soviet chemist. Sergei Vasilyevich Lebedev - biography

Sergei Lebedev, chemist, founder of the synthetic rubber industry, was born on July 25, 1874.

Private bussiness

Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev (1874—1934) born in Lublin, Poland, in the family of a priest. He graduated from high school in Warsaw, and during his studies became interested in chemistry. In 1895 he entered St. Petersburg University in the natural sciences department. He carried out research under the guidance of professor, future academician Alexei Favorsky. In 1899, he was arrested and expelled from St. Petersburg for almost a year for participating in student unrest. In 1900 he managed to graduate from the university and received a diploma with honors.

At first he was a laboratory assistant at the soap factory of Alexei Zhukov. Soon he began working on the commission for the study of rail steel at the Institute of Railway Engineers.

In 1902, on the recommendation of Favorsky, he was accepted as a laboratory assistant at St. Petersburg University. At the same time he got married. Due to lack of funds, he continued to work in the commission on rail steel, and also gave lessons in secondary schools. educational institutions.

With the beginning Russo-Japanese War in 1904 he was called up to active army. Arriving on vacation, he filed for divorce and married a second time - to his cousin, artist Anna Ostroumova.

Only in 1908 did he resume scientific work- began researching the polymerization of diolefin hydrocarbons, which was destined to become the main work of his life.

In the spring of 1910 he obtained the rubber-like polymer divinyl. In May of the same year, at a meeting of the Russian Chemical Society, he made a report on the polymerization of divinyl - the creation of synthetic rubber.

In 1913 he became a professor at the Psychoneurological Institute, in 1914 he began teaching a special course on the chemistry of heterocyclic compounds at St. Petersburg University, in 1915 he was elected professor at the Women's Pedagogical Institute (now the Herzen Pedagogical Institute), in 1916 - professor at the Military Medical Academy , with which all his subsequent scientific activities are connected.

In 1926, the USSR government announced international competition on The best way industrial production of synthetic rubber with a premium of 100,000 rubles. Lebedev gathered a group of seven people from his students. One of the group members, A. I. Yakubchik, recalled: “The work was not subsidized by anyone. They worked for free, during off-duty hours in the evenings and on weekends. S.V. supervised everything, directed everything, delving into all the details; he carried out each new operation himself and only after that handed it over to his assistants. Since the autumn of 1927, work was carried out at a feverish pace with great effort. We managed to complete it on time only thanks to great experience S.V., his brilliant intuition and his ability to ignite his assistants with enthusiasm through his example.”

As a result of the competition, Lebedev’s project won – a method for producing sodium-butadiene rubber from ethyl alcohol. In 1928-1931, the scientist studied the properties of this material and proposed a recipe for rubber products made from it. In 1930, a pilot plant was built in Leningrad, where in 1931 the first 260 kilograms of synthetic rubber were produced.

In the same year, the scientist was awarded the Order of Lenin for “particularly outstanding services in solving the problem of obtaining synthetic rubber.”

In 1928 he was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and in 1932 - a full member of the academy. At the Academy of Sciences he organized a laboratory of macromolecular compounds.

In the 1930s, he also developed methods for producing lubricating oil thickeners for aircraft engines.

Sergei Lebedev died on May 2, 1934 from typhus. The scientist is buried in the necropolis of artists in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

What is he famous for?

Organic chemist, founder industrial production synthetic rubber from ethyl alcohol and a method for producing rubber products from such rubber.

Also known for component development motor fuel and the production of lubricating oil thickeners, which make it possible to convert low-viscosity fuel fractions into high-viscosity aviation lubricating oils.

What you need to know

Sergey Lebedev

In 1909, Fritz Hoffmann obtained his synthetic rubber in Germany. In 1912, at a congress on applied chemistry, they demonstrated car tires made of synthetic rubber, made in Germany.

First World War and the blockade of 1914–1918 led to the development in Germany of a method for the industrial production of synthetic rubber. The first pilot plant appeared in Leverkusen and could produce 2000 tons of rubber per year, then construction began on two more, more powerful plants. However, during the war, the Germans managed to produce only 2,350 tons of synthetic rubber, and after the war, when prices for plantation rubber fell, this production was stopped altogether.

Isoprene rubber was produced in Germany. The process was long and expensive. Isoprene was synthesized as a result long row reactions: acetic acid - acetone - butynol - butenol - isoprene.

In contrast to Hoffmann, Lebedev tried to synthesize rubber that was not identical to natural rubber. And he got it from divinyl (the substance was synthesized using the Lebedev reaction by passing ethyl alcohol through a catalyst). This method was less expensive for industry.

Direct speech:

About the first production of synthetic rubber (Lebedev’s assistant, diploma student N.A. Skavronskaya):“I worked with Sergei Vasilyevich in 1909-1910. Two semesters: autumn and winter. We finished our work in May 1910. The work was called: “Polymerization of divinyl.” I remember that Sergei Vasilyevich was completely absorbed in his work, he was very interested in it and thereby drew me in. They worked hard and for a long time, completely forgetting about all other matters. On some experiments, such as the combustion and production of tetrabromide, which Sergei Vasilyevich liked to entrust to me, I sometimes spent the whole night in the laboratory, leaving home at 5-6 o’clock in the morning. And how much joy, but this is not enough - what a triumph he had when we received the first portion of divinyl rubber! I remember that a whole pilgrimage of chemists began to come to our small laboratory to look at the newborn! Could it be possible to think that these experiments would develop into such a huge work, factories would be built!

About the first rubber and women’s equality (R. N. Nikoladze-Polievktova, Lebedev’s employee at the Women’s Pedagogical Institute):“In May 1910, Sergei Vasilyevich spoke at one of the “Thursdays” with a report on the results of his work, with a demonstration of his (and N.A. Skavronskaya’s) “rubber-like” polymers. Needless to say, how we beamed and were proud, since the first Lebedev rubber was received by a woman...

About the scientist’s vacation (his wife Anna Petrovna):“He knew how to relax. I lay there, looked at insects, sorted flowers by petals, caught turtles in the Caucasus, set up a pen for them and spent hours watching their sleepy world. Loved to travel." Lebedev himself said: “I have enough chemistry in the laboratory. When I come home, I want to rest. And I relax when I look at beautiful things.”

5 facts about Sergei Lebedev:

At the Warsaw gymnasium he became friends with Yegor Wagner, the son of the famous Russian chemist E. E. Wagner, head of the department organic chemistry University of Warsaw. Lebedev often visited the Wagners. The professor's stories about N.N. Zinin, A.M. Butlerov, D.I. Mendeleev influenced the young man's choice in favor of chemistry.
Like most chemists of that time, Lebedev created many instruments in the laboratory with his own hands. Here he performed the duties of a glass blower, mechanic, and fitter. He taught the same to his students.
I was never nervous at work. His harshest condemnation was: “This is not good.”
In his youth he could work in the laboratory until 4-5 o’clock in the morning.
By his own admission, after chemistry, his favorite science was astronomy. The scientist could talk for hours about the planets, stars, and the structure of the Universe.

Materials about Sergei Lebedev:

Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev - Russian Soviet chemist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In 1900 he graduated from St. Petersburg University. He worked for 2 years at the St. Petersburg Fat Plant and at the Institute of Railway Engineers. Afterwards he served in military service in NovoAlexandria and worked at St. Petersburg University.

Since 1916, he was a professor at the Military Medical Academy in Petrograd and at the same time the head of the oil laboratory at Leningrad University, which he organized in 1925, which was transformed in 1928 into a synthetic rubber laboratory, the head of which he remained until the end of his life.

We consider Lebedev’s greatest merit to be his work on the study of rail steel at the Institute of Railway Engineers, as well as his performance at the international exhibition in Milan in 1907, where he was awarded a gold medal. But Lebedev’s most important achievement is the creation industrial method production of synthetic rubber.

Indeed, rubber was known as an overseas wonder product with very limited uses. However, many researchers made an unexpected discovery. . It turned out that when heated with sulfur, this sticky substance becomes elastic, turning into rubber - a material that, due to its strength and elasticity, immediately became irreplaceable in the automotive industry. Rubber was as essential as air to the nascent automobile and aircraft industries. He began to attract the attention of many scientists and industrialists. They began to think about obtaining it artificially.

Since 1908, Lebedev began to study the issue of artificial rubber and by 1910 he first received a sample of synthetic butadiene rubber.

Since 1914, he began work on studying the polymerization of ethylene hydrocarbons, which formed the basis of modern industrial methods for producing butyl rubber and polyisobutylene.

At the beginning of 1926, our state, in dire need of rubber, announced an international competition for the best industrial method for producing synthetic rubber. By January 1, 1928, it was required to submit 2 kg finished product and the factory diagram for its receipt. The raw materials had to be cheap and accessible, and the quality and price of synthetic rubber were at the same level as natural rubber.
From 1926 to 1928, Lebedev developed a one-stage industrial method for producing butadiene from ethyl alcohol.

And in February 1928, summing up the results of the competition, Lebedev’s method of producing rubber from ethyl alcohol was recognized as the best as the most developed and, in this situation, economically feasible.
Modern life cannot be imagined without rubber. Special rubbers of a huge variety of seals are made from it for the purposes of heat-sound-air-waterproofing of detachable elements of buildings, in various types technology.

Rubbers are used for electrical insulation, the production of medical devices and contraceptives.

In rocket technology, synthetic rubbers are used as a base. rocket fuel, in which they play the role of fuel.

Lebedev S.V. died on May 2, 1934 and was buried in St. Petersburg in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in the necropolis of artists.

A modest inscription is carved on the monument:

"Academician Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev - inventor of synthetic rubber"

The role of this invention cannot be overestimated because it became an impetus for the development of many industries and expanded new horizons for the rise of the country's economy. Scientific works of Lebedev S.V. made an invaluable contribution to the development of not only domestic but also foreign chemistry.

Main periods of life

In 1874, in Poland, in the city of Lublin, the future academician of sciences, Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev, was born into the family of a teacher (later his father became a priest).

After the death of his father, at the age of nine, he was raised by his grandparents.

In 1885 he went to first grade at a gymnasium in Warsaw. He studied reluctantly, and most of all he loved to read. However, he fell in love with chemistry early and began teaching it at the age of 17.

After graduating from high school, Lebedev entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University.

Note 1

At the age of 26, he graduated from St. Petersburg University with a first-degree diploma. After graduation, for six years he alternately worked at the St. Petersburg Fat Factory, at the Institute of Railways, St. Petersburg University, and in NovoAlexandria, military service.

Since 1906, for 10 years, Lebedev has been working in the laboratory of A.E. Favorsky at St. Petersburg University, being at the same time a professor at the Women's Pedagogical Institute since 1915.

Lebedev spent some time in 1906 in France, where he studied with Professor Victor Henri.

1908 – first report by S.V. Lebedev on the rates of polymerization of acrylic acid esters at a meeting of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society.

In 1913, Lebedev defended his dissertation, received a gold medal and a prize from Russian Academy Sci. In the same year he was elected privat-docent of St. Petersburg University.

Since 1916 S.V. Lebedev is a professor at the Military Medical Academy in Leningrad. At the same time, he headed the oil laboratory he created in 1925 at the Leningrad Institute, which was later transformed into a synthetic rubber laboratory, which he headed until the end of his life.

Since 1932 - Academician of Sciences of the USSR.

S.V. died Lebedev at the age of 59 years.

Scientific activity

Note 2

S.V. Lebedev's main research lies in the field of organic chemistry: isomerization, polymerization, and hydrogenation of unsaturated compounds.

Main scientific achievements:

For the first time in 1908-1913, studies were carried out on the mechanism and kinetics of thermal polymerization of diene hydrocarbons of the allene and divinyl series. Lebedev found out the conditions for the separate synthesis of cyclic dimers of the cyclohexane series and polymers. He established the dependence of polymerization on the structure of the initial hydrocarbons.
In 1910, he synthesized synthetic butadiene rubber for the first time.
Conducted work on the study of the polymerization of ethylene hydrocarbons, which are the basis modern methods industrial polyisobutylene and butyl rubber.
He developed a method for producing butadiene from ethanol, which proceeds in one stage through a combined catalytic reaction of dehydrogenation and dehydration on a zinc-aluminum catalyst.
Synthetic rubber was obtained by polymerization of butadiene under the action of sodium metal. Later, based on this rubber, Lebedev developed methods for producing rubber and rubber products.
Thanks to the research of S.V. Lebedev, industrial production of synthetic rubber began to be created in the USSR in 1932.
In the 30s A series of studies was carried out in the field of hydrogenation of ethylene hydrocarbons. As a result of the experiments, the dependence of the rate of hydrogen addition at the double bond on the nature, size and location of substituents in the ethylene molecule was established.
Methods have been developed for producing lubricating oil thickeners from petroleum fractions, which are widely used for aircraft engines in the production of high-viscosity lubricants.

Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev(July 13 (25), Lublin - May 2, Leningrad) - Soviet chemist, founder of the industrial method of producing synthetic rubber. Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1932).

Biography

Childhood

Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev was born in Lublin on July 13, 1874. He was the third child in the family. His father was a teacher of Russian literature, and at the age of 32 he became a priest. Sergei Vasilyevich’s mother married his father at the age of 16. The family lived in church house. When Sergei was nine years old, his father died of consumption, and the family’s fate changed. Sergei was sent to live with his grandparents, and then he and his mother moved to Warsaw, but they had little money and lived modestly.

Years 1885 to 1900

In 1885, Sergei entered the 1st grade of the Warsaw Gymnasium. He didn’t like studying, but since childhood he loved to read, so free time dedicated precisely to this. Already in the 5th grade, Sergei realized that he wanted to become a chemist; at the age of 17, he gave lessons to earn money. Towards the end of the gymnasium, Sergei Vasilyevich decided to enter St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Natural Sciences Department, his attempt was crowned with success. There he ends up in the laboratory of Professor Favorsky and devotes himself completely to his work, even sometimes staying overnight in the laboratory.

In 1899 Sergei Vasilievich was carried away social movement, participated in strikes and meetings. At one of the demonstrations, he was arrested and put in a transit prison, but three days later he was released with an undertaking to immediately leave St. Petersburg. After which he went to his uncle in Syaskiye Ryadki. In the fall, he received permission to continue studying at the university and graduated in 1900.

Years 1901 to 1906

Sergei Vasilyevich graduated from the university with a first-degree diploma. After graduation, he began giving physics lessons in secondary schools and working in the laboratory at the Zhukov brothers soap factory.

In 1902, Sergei Vasilyevich was invited to St. Petersburg University as a laboratory assistant in the department of technical and analytical chemistry.

Years from 1906 to 1914

On the advice of Professor Favorsky, he began researching the phenomena of polymerization of unsaturated organic compounds. He abandoned all earnings and was engaged only in science.

On September 11, 1908, Sergei Vasilyevich made his first scientific report at a meeting of the Russian Physicochemical Society on the rates of polymerization of acrylic acid esters.

In the spring of 1911 he passed his master's exam, and in 1913 he defended his dissertation for which he received a prize and a gold medal from the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In 1913 Lebedev was elected privat-docent of St. Petersburg University, he taught the course “ Current state and the meaning of the doctrine of valency."

Years from 1915 to 1924

At the beginning of the war, there was a high demand for toluene, and in connection with this, Lebedev was appointed to manage the chemical part of the Neftegaz plant and contributed to the production of toluene.

In the fall, Sergei Vasilyevich fell ill with a sore throat, which dragged on and was complicated by tuberculosis. He recovered only after some time in Batumi.

In 1915 she became a professor at the Women's Pedagogical Institute.

In 1916, Lebedev gave a test lecture “On the state of the issue of the chemical structure of chlorophyll and blood pigments” and in 1917 he was elected head of the department at the Military Medical Academy. The department was in disarray, and it took Lebedev a lot of time to get it back on its feet.

Years from 1925 to 1931

In 1925 -1927 Lebedev carried out work in the field of chemical oil refining, which made a great contribution to the production of divinyl from oil, created an oil refining laboratory at Leningrad University, and later converted it into a synthetic rubber laboratory.

In the fall of 1925, Sergei Vasilyevich and his team began working on a competition to obtain and present 2 kg of synthetic rubber; his efforts were crowned with success, and samples were sent to Moscow. The method of producing rubber from alcohol was recognized as very valuable.

In 1930, under the leadership of Lebedev, construction of a pilot plant and research laboratory began (currently the Research Institute of Synthetic Rubber named after S. V. Lebedev). The plant produced divinyl and then rubber in large quantities. Later, this rubber was used to make tire covers.

last years of life

During this period, Lebedev traveled a lot. IN last years in Detskoe Selo I rented a small apartment where I went to be alone.

In 1931 the government gave him a car. In 1932 he became a member of the Academy of Sciences. In 1932 - 1934, he supervised the training of graduate students at the USSR Academy of Sciences and at the Leningrad Institute of Chemical Technology named after Lensovet. In the fall of 1933, Sergei Vasilyevich left the Military Medical Academy.

On April 14, 1934, Sergei Vasilyevich, who had previously complained of poor health, died at home. S. V. Lebedev was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in the Necropolis of Art Masters. His grave is located not far from the graves of P. I. Tchaikovsky, A. P. Borodin, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A. I. Kuindzhi.

Scientific research

Lebedev's development of Butlerov's theory of chemical structure 1906-1934

Lebedev developed the main provisions of the theory chemical structure Butlerov in her research. He studied the polymerization reaction, the effect of temperature on it, and proved that the polymerization reaction of unsaturated particles and the depolymerization of their polymers are a single process. In his master's thesis, he developed a method for the synthesis of butadiene rubber; on the basis of the method, an industrial technology was created, which laid the foundation for the domestic industry of synthetic rubber, which is found wide application in the production of tires. He conducted a large series of studies and revealed the degree of influence of unsaturation and substitution in unsaturated organic molecules on the direction and rate of their catalytic hydrogenation. Following Markovnikov and Favorsky, with his work in the field of unsaturated organic compounds, he made a significant contribution to Butlerov’s theory of the chemical structure of organic compounds.

Lebedev's research on the structure of synthetic rubbers 1933-1934

He was the first to use the ozonation method to study the structure of the divinyl thermopolymer and its homologues, established that the macromolecules of thermopolymers contain a grain similar to the grain of natural rubber, and experimentally determined the decomposition products of rubber.

Research in the field of synthesis of divinyl from ethyl alcohol and synthetic rubber 1926-1931

Lebedev was the first to synthesize divinyl from alcohol in high yield. The synthesis is based on the dehydrogenation reaction, ethanol dehydration, which later became known as the “Lebedev reaction” (1):

2C 2 H 5 OH = C 4 H 6 + H 2 + 2H 2 O (1)

This method of producing divinyl was the basis for the industrial production of synthetic rubber in the USSR.

In 1926 the Supreme Council National economy The USSR announced an international competition for the development of industrial production of synthetic rubber. In addition to describing the method, it was required to present two kilograms of synthetic rubber and a developed scheme for its factory production. Raw materials for technological process it had to be accessible and cheap. The resulting rubber had to be equal in quality to natural rubber and not be more expensive.

According to the results of the competition, the method developed in 1926-1927 by Lebedev and a group of employees for producing sodium butadiene rubber from ethyl alcohol was recognized as the best. In the fall of 1928, Lebedev submitted to Glavkhimprom a plan of work necessary to draw up a project for a pilot plant. In 1928-1931 he studied the properties of sodium butadiene rubber, found active fillers for it and proposed a recipe for rubber products made from synthetic rubber. During 1930, a Pilot plant, where in 1931 the first block of synthetic rubber weighing 260 kilograms was produced.

In the same 1931, Lebedev “for particularly outstanding services in solving the problem of obtaining synthetic rubber” was awarded the Order of Lenin. The scientist’s scientific activity was recognized by the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1928 he was elected a corresponding member, and in 1932 - a full member of the academy.

Research in chemistry and petroleum refining 1914-1917, 1925-1929

Lebedev carried out work on the production of toluene by pyrolysis of oil; the results of this work formed the basis for the construction of a pyrolysis plant in Baku. A large number of He devoted time to studying the reaction of catalytic hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons; the patterns he established make it possible to control these processes in the right direction.

Family

In 1895, after graduating from high school, Lebedev went to St. Petersburg University; in his free time from studying, he visited his aunt, Ostroumova Maria Klimentyeva. He gets closer to his cousin Ostroumova Anna Pavlovna and soon they get engaged.

Memory

1. Plant in St. Petersburg for the synthesis of rubber named after S. V. Lebedev.

2. Laboratory at St. Petersburg University named after S. V. Lebedev.

3. Collection scientific works Academician S.V. Lebedev.

4. A museum reflecting the history of the development of the synthetic rubber industry and scientific activity S. V. Lebedev in St. Petersburg.

5. Memorial plaque in St. Petersburg in the place where he lived.

Sergey Vasilievich Lebedev short biography The life of a chemist and researcher of polymerization processes is described in this article.

Sergey Vasilievich Lebedev short biography

The future researcher was born in Lublin on July 25, 1874. He received his primary education at the gymnasium. After graduating in 1895, he entered St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, Natural Sciences Department. As a third-year student, he begins to conduct his research under the guidance of Favorsky.

After graduating from the institute, Lebedev worked first at the St. Petersburg Fat Factory, and then for two years from 1900 to 1902 at the Institute of Railway Engineers. After some time, he was invited to the position of laboratory assistant in the department of analytical and technical chemistry at the university where he studied.

In the period 1904-1905 he served in military service in the Tula infantry regiment. Afterwards in 1906 he worked in Paris. For 10 years, until 1916, he returned to his institute and studied the processes of polymerization of unsaturated hydrocarbons. At the same time, he worked at the Women's Pedagogical Institute as a professor.

In the period 1909-1910, Sergei Vasilyevich published works devoted to polymerization processes. His ambitious work entitled “Research on the Polymerization of Diethylene Hydrocarbons” became the scientific foundation for the industrial synthesis of rubber.

In 1913, Sergei Lebedev defended his master's thesis and received the position of private associate professor at St. Petersburg University and professor at the Neurological Institute. In 1914, he began experiments in the field of polymerization of ethylene and acetylene hydrocarbons. The research results were published in 1935 and formed the basis of methods for producing polyisobutylenes and butyl rubber in industry.

In 1916, the scientist was invited to Petrograd to the position of professor at the Military Medical Academy. In 1925, he created an oil laboratory at Leningrad University, which he headed. In 1928, it was renamed the Synthetic Rubber Laboratory.

In 1932, he was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and in 1934, Sergei Vasilyevich headed the laboratory of macromolecular compounds at the Academy of Sciences.