A Life of Magic Chemistry Autobiographical Reflections Including Post-Nobel Prize Years and the Methanol Economy

• Chronicles the distinguished career of a chemist whose work in a broad range of chemistry areas, and most notably that in methane chemistry, led to technologies that impact the processing and utility of alternative fuels
• Is based on Olah's work on extremely strong superacids and how they yielded the common term, "magic acids"
• Details events since the publication of the first edition in 2000
• Inspires readers with details on Dr. Olah's successful recent research on methanol, intended to help provide a solution to "the oil problem"

GEORGE A. OLAH, PhD, was awarded the undivided 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is the Founding Director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Thomas Mathew, PhD, is a Senior Scientist and long-time close associate of Professor George A. Olah at the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute.

Preface ix

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 Perspectives on Science 4

Chapter 3 Chemistry: The Multifaceted Central Science 21

Chapter 4 Growing Up in Hungary and Turning to Chemistry 38

Chapter 5 Early Research and Teaching: Departing the Shadow of Emil Fischer 51

Chapter 6 Move to North America: Industrial Experience While Pursuing the Elusive Cations of Carbon 64

Chapter 7 Return to Academia—The Cleveland Years: Carbocations, Magic Acid, and Superacid Chemistry 84

Chapter 8 Moving to Los Angeles: Hydrocarbon Research and Building the Loker Institute 108

Chapter 9 The Nonclassical Ion Controversy and Its Significance 137

Chapter 10 From Kekul´e’s Four-Valent Carbon to Five- and Higher Coordinate Hypercarbon Chemistry 154

Chapter 11 The Nobel Prize: Learning to Live with It and Not Rest on Laurels 170

Chapter 12 Research in Post-Nobel Years: From Superacids to Superelectrophiles 189

Chapter 13 Renewable Carbon Chemistry: Anthropogenic Chemical Cycle with CO2 Capture and Recycling to Methanol 206

Chapter 14 Rendering Methanol, A Renewable Carbon Source and Fuel: Direct and Regenerative Methanol Fuel Cell 225

Chapter 15 The Concept and Development of the Methanol Economy 242

Chapter 16 Gone My Way 254

Chapter 17 Concluding Remarks 294

Appendix My Previous Books for References and Additional Reading 297

Curriculum Vitae of George Andrew Olah 300

Index 306

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