Lionel Salem

Lionel Salem (born 5 March 1937, Paris)^[1] is a French theoretical chemist, former research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), retired since 1999.^[2] He is a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science^[3] which named him its annual award winner in 1975 for his work on photochemical processes and on chemical reaction mechanisms. .^[4]

He has contributed to the theories of forces between molecules, of conjugated molecules, of organic reaction mechanisms and of heterogeneous catalysis. He developed the electronic theory of diradicals, as well as the concepts of diradical and zwitterionic states.^[1] In 1968 he described the energy change for the approach of two molecules as a function of the properties of the orbitals of the two molécules; this approach, pursued independently by Gilles Klopman, led to the Klopman-Salem equation and the theory of frontier orbitals^[5] · .^[6]

He is the author of several books on chemical subjects, including The Molecular Orbital Theory of Conjugated Systems (1966), The Organic Chemist's Book of Orbitals (with William L. Jorgensen, (1973)), The Marvelous Molecule (1979) and Electrons in Chemical Reactions (1982)^[1] · .^[7]

External links

Anders, Udo (28 October 1997). "Interview with Professor Lionel Salem". Early Ideas in the History of Quantum Chemistry. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

References

1. "Lionel Salem". IAQMS (International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
2. "Organisation et moyens". www.cvc.u-psud.fr (in French). Retrieved 15 October 2020.
3. "Members of the Academy". IAQMS (International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science). Retrieved 15 October 2020.,
4. "Award Winners". IAQMS (International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
5. Salem, Lionel (1 January 1968). "Intermolecular orbital theory of the interaction between conjugated systems. I. General theory". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 90 (3): 543–552. doi:10.1021/ja01005a001.
6. Klopman, Gilles (1 January 1968). "Chemical reactivity and the concept of charge- and frontier-controlled reactions". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 90 (2): 223–234. doi:10.1021/ja01004a002.
7. Salem, Lionel (1982). Electrons in Chemical Reactions. Wiley-Interscience. doi:10.1002/bbpc.19830870625. ISBN 0-471-08474-3.