Ray Baker | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | 1 November 1936
Alma mater | University of Leicester |
Awards | CBE (2002) PhD Fellow of the Royal Society (1994) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Organic chemistry |
Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles University of Southampton University of Leicester Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Labs [1] BBSRC [1] |
Thesis | Detritiation Reactions in Aromatic Systems (1962) |
Raymond Baker CBE FRS (born 1 November 1936) [1] is a British chemist and former Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. [1]
Baker was educated at Ilkeston Grammar School and the University of Leicester, where he gained his PhD for research titled " Detritiation Reactions in Aromatic Systems " in 1962. [2]
After completing his PhD, Baker did postdoctoral research at UCLA from 1962–64. He was appointed a lecturer in Organic Chemistry at the University of Southampton in 1964, Reader in 1974 and a Professor in 1977. Baker is a co-author of the textbook Mechanism in Organic Chemistry. [3]
Baker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1994 and Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002.
In organic chemistry, the phenyl group, or phenyl ring, is a cyclic group of atoms with the formula C6H5, and is often represented by the symbol Ph. The phenyl group is closely related to benzene and can be viewed as a benzene ring, minus a hydrogen, which may be replaced by some other element or compound to serve as a functional group. A phenyl group has six carbon atoms bonded together in a hexagonal planar ring, five of which are bonded to individual hydrogen atoms, with the remaining carbon bonded to a substituent. Phenyl groups are commonplace in organic chemistry. Although often depicted with alternating double and single bonds, the phenyl group is chemically aromatic and has equal bond lengths between carbon atoms in the ring.
A substitution reaction is a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another functional group. Substitution reactions are of prime importance in organic chemistry. Substitution reactions in organic chemistry are classified either as electrophilic or nucleophilic depending upon the reagent involved, whether a reactive intermediate involved in the reaction is a carbocation, a carbanion or a free radical, and whether the substrate is aliphatic or aromatic. Detailed understanding of a reaction type helps to predict the product outcome in a reaction. It also is helpful for optimizing a reaction with regard to variables such as temperature and choice of solvent.
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