23 ARBUZOV 



the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences in 1932 and an Academician 

 in 1942 and was made President, in 1945, of the Kazan' Branch 

 of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences. He was a delegate from 

 R.S. F.S.R. to the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. for the second 

 through fifth meetings and again as of March 18, 1962. In 1957 

 he was a Hero of Socialist Labor. Twice, 1943 and 1947, he 

 has won Stalin Prizes. 



Arbuzov's studies are concerned with phosphorous-organic 

 compounds. In his master's degree thesis "Structure of 

 Phosphorous Acid and its Derivatives" (1905), Arbuzov de- 

 termined the structure of phosphorous acid and its esters. He 

 found a catalytic rearrangement reaction for intermediate 

 esters of this acid, which is called the Arbuzov Rearrangement. 

 This isomerization is the widely used method for synthesizing 

 alkylphosphenic acids and similar compounds. In his doctor's 

 degree thesis "Catalysis in Conversion of Some Phosphorous 

 Compounds" (1914), he extended his theory to cover phenyl- 

 phosphenic and other esters. He identified the forces which 

 accelerate the catalytic isomerization processes, with the 

 forces which affect the rates of conventional chemical reactions. 

 Together with his pupil A. A. Dunin, Arbuzov synthesized 

 phosphonacetic ester and its homologs. The sodium and po- 

 tassium derivatives of these esters can be used in syntheses 

 similar to the acetoacetic and malonic ester. This synthesis 

 and investigation is related to Arbuzov' s work on tautomerism 

 of dialkyl esters of phosphorous acid and on the reactions of 

 their metal derivatives. During the investigation of these com- 

 pounds Arbuzov, in collaboration with B. A. Arbuzov, found a 

 new method of obtaining free radicals of the triarylmethyl 

 series. Arbuzov has also studied the tapping and flow of soft 

 gums from conifers. He found a high pressure (2 to 3 atmos- 

 pheres) in the gum ducts of these plants and developed a tech- 

 nique for collecting gums without any loss of volatile substanc- 

 es. This technique aided the rapid growth of the resin industry 

 of the U.S.S.R. Arbuzov wrote a book on the history of chemis- 

 try which showed the contributions of N. N. Zenin, A. M. 

 Butlerov, the Kazan' school as a whole, M. V. Lomonosov, 

 D. I. Mendeleev, S. V. Lebedev and others. He also studied 

 extensively the history of free radicals, phosphorous -organic 

 compounds, and catalysis. 



As of 1961 he was Chairman of the Commission on the 

 History of Chemistry, and Member of the Presidium of the 

 U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences. 



