Wolfgang von Philipsborn

Wolfgang von Philipsborn studied chemistry at the Free University, Berlin (1949-1952), and at the University of Zürich, where he received his Ph.D. in 1956 under the guidance of H. Schmid. Thereafter he was Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked with J. C. Sheehan. He returned to the University of Zürich in 1961 and became Privatdozent (1963), Assistant Professor (1966), and Associate Professor (1969). After a visiting professorship at the Israel Institute of Technology (1972), he was appointed Full Professor in 1974. He has occupied numerous visiting chairs in Universities and Research Institutions abroad, he is Editor of "Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry", and since 1985, Swiss Delegate to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

The research of W. von Philipsborn concerned organometallic structural chemistry, stereochemistry, chiroptic properties of transition metal complexes and, in particular, comprised all aspects of high-resolution multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. His research group specialized in multiple resonance detection of transition metal nuclei, such as ⁵⁵Mn, ⁵⁷Fe, ⁵⁹Co, ⁹¹Zr, ¹⁰³Rh, ¹⁰⁹Ag, and ¹⁸⁷Os, and the determination of their chemical shifts, heteronuclear coupling constants, and relaxation times. The NMR parameters are correlated with the structure of organometallic complexes, properties of the transition metal-carbon bond, and steric effects in coordination of metal centres. In the course of these investigations, it was discovered that transition metal shielding of e.g. ⁵⁹Co and ¹⁰³Rh is also a sensitive probe into the electronic structure, reactivity and stereoselectivity of homogeneous catalysts.

Selected Publications

D. Nanz and W. von Philipsborn,
Coherence pathways and "inverse" spectroscopy of InSm spin systems.
J. Magn. Reson. 1991, 92, 560.

B. R. Bender, M. Koller, A. Linden, A. Marcuzzi and W. von Philipsborn,
Novel approach to optically active enone-iron carbonyl complexes. Correlation between the ir absolute configuration and circular dichroism.
Organometallics 1992, 11, 4268.

H. Bircher, B. R. Bender and W. von Philipsborn,
Interconversion of diastereomeric complexes involved in Rh(I) catalyzed asymmetric hydroge nation: A (31P,31P) EXSY NMR study.
Magn. Reson. Chem. 1993, 31, 293.

B. R. Bender, M. Koller, D. Nanz and W. von Philipborn,
103Rh Shielding and the stereoselectivity of H2 addition to diastereomeric olefin complexe s.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993, 115, 5889.

V. Torocheshnikov, D. Rentsch and W. von Philipsborn,
55Mn, 13C Coupling constants of some s- and p-organomanganese complexes
Magn. Reson. Chem. 1994, 32, 348.