Professor Herbert Zimmermann, formerly University of Freiburg, Germany, has passed away on January 22, 2016.
Professor Zimmermann’s research focused on intermolecular interactions and quantum chemistry. He combined spectroscopic data with theoretical insights to understand phenomena such as hydrogen bonding, free radicals, and the electronic spectra of aromatic compounds.
Herbert Zimmermann studied chemistry at the Technical University, Munich, Germany, where he focused on physical chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in 1958, also from the Technical University of Munich, for work on imidazole he performed at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, Germany. In 1963, he became Professor for Theoretical Organic Chemistry at the University of Munich, and in 1967, he joined the University of Freiburg, Germany, as Full Professor for Physical Chemistry. He remained in Freiburg until his retirement in 1993.
Among other honors, Professor Zimmermann received the Bunsen Memorial Medal by the Deutsche Bunsen-Gesellschaft für Physikalische Chemie (DBG, German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry) in 1983 and an honoray doctorate by the Free University of Berlin.
Selected Publications
- Die Entropie von Teilchen und ihre Quantisierung (in German),
Herbert Zimmermann,
Z. Phys. Chem. 1996, 195, 1–13.
DOI: 10.1524/zpch.1996.195.Part_1_2.001 - 1,3,5-Benzenetriyltris(1,5-diphenyl-3-verdazyl): A Radical Having a Nearly Degenerate Doublet-Quartet Ground State,
Gerd Kothe, Franz A. Neugebauer, Herbert Zimmermann,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1972, 11, 830–832.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.197208302 - 1,3,5-Benzenetriyltris[di(p-biphenyl)methyl], a Radical Having a Quartet Ground State that Dimerizes by Entropy Bonding,
Gerd Kothe, Ernst Ohmes, Jürgen Brickmann, Herbert Zimmermann,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1971, 10, 938–940.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.197109381 - New Aroxyls : Mono-, Di-, and Triradicals. Detection of a Triplet State,
Gerd Kothe, Claudia Nowak, Karl-Heinz Denkel, Ernst Ohmes, Herbert Zimmermann,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1970, 9, 520–521.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.197005201 - Lingering Time of the Proton in the Wells of the Double-Minimum Potential of Hydrogen Bonds,
Jürgen Brickmann, Herbert Zimmermann,
J. Chem. Phys. 1969, 50, 1608.
DOI: 10.1063/1.1671247