Lu Jiaxi

Lu Jiaxi the Chinese chemist (1915-2000) who founded the study of structural chemistry in China, pioneered the synthesis and structural analysis of complex inorganic and organometallic compounds, and became a leader of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Early Life and Education

Lu Jiaxi was born on 26 September 1915 in Shanghai, into a family of modest circumstances. He was an industrious student and entered the University of Shanghai, where he studied chemistry and graduated in 1936 with a strong record. The onset of war with Japan then disrupted the normal course of academic life.

He remained in China during the war and worked as a teacher and researcher, and in 1946 he went to the United States for advanced study. He entered the California Institute of Technology, where he worked under the chemist Linus Pauling, one of the founders of modern structural chemistry, and received his doctorate in 1948.

His time in Pauling's laboratory was formative. He learned the methods of X-ray crystallography and the theory of chemical bonding, and he absorbed Pauling's conviction that the structure of molecules holds the key to their behaviour. He returned to China in 1950 determined to build the subject at home.

Building Structural Chemistry in China

On his return Lu Jiaxi joined the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and set about establishing research in structural chemistry, then almost absent in China. He built the first X-ray crystallographic facility in the country and trained the small group of researchers who would form the nucleus of the field.

He developed methods for determining the structure of crystals and applied them to a wide range of compounds, from simple salts to complicated coordination compounds of the transition metals. His early work established the accuracy of Chinese structure determination and earned international respect.

He also organised a programme of research on the chemistry of uranium and other elements important to the national effort, and he trained students in the analysis of crystal structures and in the techniques of chemical synthesis. The institute became the centre of Chinese structural chemistry.

Inorganic and Cluster Chemistry

Lu Jiaxi's research ranged widely over inorganic and physical chemistry. He studied the chemistry of molybdenum, tungsten and other transition metals, the structures of their oxides and sulfides, and the bonding in compounds containing metal clusters, groups of atoms held together by direct metal-metal bonds.

He investigated the chemistry of sulfur and nitrogen compounds and the structures of a variety of salts and coordination complexes, and he analysed how the electronic configuration of a metal influences the shape and stability of the molecules it forms. His careful structural data provided tests for the theories of chemical bonding.

He was particularly interested in the relationship between structure and reactivity, and in the way that the geometry of a molecule determines its chemical and physical properties. His work on crystals and clusters contributed to the broader understanding of inorganic materials and their transformations.

Scientific Leadership

Lu Jiaxi held a series of senior positions in the scientific administration of China. He directed the Institute of Chemistry and later the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, and he served as the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences from 1981 to 1987, guiding the country's scientific research through a period of reform.

As president he supported the development of basic research, the reform of scientific institutions and the training of young scientists, and he promoted international scientific cooperation. He also worked to expand the application of science to economic and industrial development, a priority of the period.

He served as a vice-director of the State Science and Technology Commission and took part in national planning for science and technology. His combination of research distinction and administrative ability made him one of the most influential scientific figures of his generation in China.

Influence and Legacy

Lu Jiaxi was a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and of the Academy of Sciences of the Developing World, and he received numerous national and international honours for his contributions to chemistry and to the organisation of science. He was admired for his integrity and for his commitment to research.

He trained many students who became leading chemists in China, and the structural chemistry laboratory he founded continued to be a centre of excellence. His efforts to introduce modern crystallographic methods and to foster basic research had a lasting effect on the development of the chemical sciences in the country.

He died on 4 February 2000 in Beijing at the age of eighty-four. He is remembered as the founder of structural chemistry in China and as a statesman of science, a man who combined meticulous laboratory work with a broad vision of the place of research in national life.

References

^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4]

↑ Lu Jiaxi, Studies in Structural Chemistry, Science Press, 1982.
↑ Lu Jiaxi, The Chemistry of Metal Clusters, Science Press, 1990.
↑ Chen Kun, Chemistry in Twentieth-Century China, Tsinghua University Press, 2006.
↑ Li Ming, Leaders of Chinese Science, Higher Education Press, 2012.

[r1-1] Lu Jiaxi, Studies in Structural Chemistry, Science Press, 1982.

[r2-2] Lu Jiaxi, The Chemistry of Metal Clusters, Science Press, 1990.

[r3-3] Chen Kun, Chemistry in Twentieth-Century China, Tsinghua University Press, 2006.

[r4-4] Li Ming, Leaders of Chinese Science, Higher Education Press, 2012.

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