Robert Thomas Sanderson (1912–1989) was an American inorganic chemist, more commonly known by the initials "R.T." found in his papers. He received his Ph.D. degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

for his research in

boron Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three ...

chemistry. After working in Texaco's research lab, he became a professor and spent his career on the faculties of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. He also created a company supplying safety posters and lab-related artwork of his own design, and published several books including ''Vacuum Manipulation of Volatile Compounds''.

Electronegativity equalization

In 1951, Sanderson developed the idea of electronegativity equalization, stating two bonding atoms will equalize their Mulliken electronegativity. He would later further revise his own scale of electronegativity to adhere to the 4.00 value of fluorine found in the more common Pauling scale, as well as apply his principle to the calculation of polar covalent bonds, calculating partial charges on a number of polar inorganic compounds. His electronegativity scale was applied to generating reference information like molecular geometry, s-electron energy, and NMR spin-spin constants for organic compounds.

Electronegativity (Sanderson scale)

References

1912 births 1989 deaths American inorganic chemists University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American chemists {{US-chemist-stub