Wallace Carothers

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Wallace Hume Carothers (April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) was an American chemist, chemist, and the DuPont's organic chemistry leader, who was recognized with the invention of nylon.Carothers was a group leader at the DuPont Experimental Station laboratory, near Wilmington, Delaware, where the bulk polymer research was conducted.

Carothers, an organic chemist, was also responsible for the neoprene's groundwork.

He worked at many universities before being recruited by DuPont to work on fundamental research after earning his Ph.D. Helen Sweetman was married on February 21, 1936.

Since his youth, Carothers had been plagued with bouts of depression.

Despite his success with nylon, he regretted that he had not achieved much and had run out of ideas.

His misery was exacerbated by his sister's death, and he committed suicide by drinking potassium cyanide on April 28, 1937.

Jane, his daughter, was born on November 27, 1937.

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Education and academic career

Carothers was born in Burlington, Iowa, on April 27, 1896, to Ira and Mary Evalina Carothers. He was the eldest of four children. He had one brother and two sisters: John, Isobel, and Elizabeth. Carothers was captivated by tools and mechanical systems as a child and spent many hours trying to figure out how to use them. He attended public school in Des Moines, Iowa, where he was known as a conscient student. Carothers enrolled in the Capital City Commercial College in Des Moines, where his father was vice president, after graduating and under pressure from his father, finishing the accounting and secretarial curriculum in July 1915.

In September 1915, he entered Tarkio College in Missouri. Despite being a natural English speaker, he switched to chemistry under the guidance of Arthur Pardee, the department's head. Carothers were so good at chemistry that before graduation, he was made a chemistry instructor and taught the senior course as well as being chairman of the University of South Dakota's chemistry department. He graduated from Tarkio in 1920 with a bachelor of science degree at the age of 24. In 1921, he began attending the University of Illinois for his master of arts degree, which he obtained at the University of Illinois under Professor Carl Marvel's supervision.

Carothers served as a chemistry instructor at the University of South Dakota for one year from 1921 to 22 years. He began his independent study at the University of South Dakota, which culminated in an article that was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. He characterized physical characteristics of phenyl isocyanate and diazobenzene-imide (now known as phenyl azide) in this paper. The properties are very similar, leading to him to the conclusion that the second compound's composition is C6H5-N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=N=

He returned to the University of Illinois to study for his Ph.D. under Roger Adams. In 1924, his degree was conferred. He worked in organic chemistry and minored in physical chemistry and mathematics, and he earned a bachelor's degree in physical chemistry and mathematics. He served as a research assistant from 1922-1923 and received the Carr Fellowship for 1923–24. At the time, it was the most coveted award offered by the university.

In 1926, he was initiated into Alpha Chi Sigma as a member of the University of Illinois' Zeta Chapter.

Carothers spent two years as an organic chemistry instructor at the University of Illinois after receiving his Ph.D.

Carothers were sent to Harvard University in 1926. He was also an organic chemistry lecturer. Carothers were named after James B. Conant, who became President of Harvard College in 1933.

DuPont decided to invest in basic, pure research, not specifically aimed at the creation of a money-making product in 1927. The Carothers travelled to Wilmington, Delaware, to discuss the possibility of being in charge of organic chemistry at the current DuPont laboratory for fundamental study.

Later career and depression

Carothers and three other DuPont scientists moved to Wilmington, NC, in 1931. He was no recluse, but his depressive moods often prevented him from participating in any of the activities in which his roommates participated. "There doesn't seem to be much to report about my outside of chemistry experiences," he wrote to a close friend, Frances Spencer. I'm living in the country with three other bachelors, and they're all dressed in high boots and white ties, although I regret my ancient custom of sitting sullenly at home." Carothers informed Julian Hill that he had a capsule of cyanide attached to his watch chain about this time.

Carothers loathed the public speaking out in order to keep his high-profile. "I did go up to New Haven during the holidays and gave a speech at the organic symposium," he wrote in a letter to Frances Spencer in January 1932. It was well-received, but the prospect of having to make it ended the previous weeks, and it was difficult to use large amounts of alcohol to relax my nerves for the occasion. As time goes on, my anxiety, morose, and vacillation get worse, and no alcoholic beverage can bring about any lasting change. To me, 1932 seems to be a little bit dark."

Dr. Bolton edited the 1932 deal under which Carothers were employed, replacing it with a new one. "Purity Hall" will now be focusing on "engaging a closer link between our primary objectives and the company's interests." This meant that funds were moved from pure research to practical research. Carothers did not see himself as a good commercial researcher. He suggested that fundamental research be limited to two or three options, which would be in accordance with DuPont's interests.

During this period, Carothers' personal life was tumultuous. He was having an affair with married woman Sylvia Moore, who married her husband in 1933, who requested for divorce. He became anxious about his parents' financial stability and planned to bring them to Wilmington. He purchased a house in Arden about ten miles (16 km) from the Experimental Station with his parents unaware of the potential emotional consequences of the move. At the time, he was 37 years old. His parents' interactions became tense quickly. Sylvia Moore, who was then single, was still single, and his parents disapproved of the marriage. His parents returned to Des Moines in 1934, finding the family's tumultuious, they returned to the city.

Carothers turned his attention to fibers again in 1934. Now the team has substituted diamines for glycols to produce a polyamide, a form of polymer. These chemicals were much more stable than those that were made from polyesters obtained by using the glycols. Polyamides' ability to form crystalline domains by hydrogen bonding gives them greater mechanical stability. They might also produce a synthetic silk that would be suitable for everyday use. A number of new polyamides were born as a result of his research. Dr. W. R. Peterson and Dr. Donald Coffman's lab work on this project was carried out. Dr. Gerard Berchet was first introduced to polyamide research in 1935.

Carothers disappeared during this productive period of research, long before the introduction of nylon. He didn't come to work, and no one knew where he was going. He was discovered in a small psychiatric clinic, Pinel Clinic, near Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He had been so ill that he went to Baltimore to see a psychiatrist, who brought him to the clinic.

Carothers returned to DuPont just shy of being released from the clinic. Bolton ordered Carothers to specialize in polyamides.

Carother's linear superpolymers began as an unrestricted foray into the unknown with no clear intention in mind. However, the study was conducted in a new field of chemistry, and Du Pont believed that any new chemical breakthrough would probably be of great benefit to the company. Carothers discovered some super-polymers that became viscous solids at high temperatures in the course of study, and it was discovered that filaments could be made from this material if a rod was embedded in the molten polymer and detached. The goal of the project changed to these filaments and 'Nylon,' as the result of the find.

Gerard Berchet, a Carothers subsidiary, produced a half-ounce polymer from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid, which would later be known as Nylon. Because of the high melting point, it was impossible to work with, but Bolton selected this polyamide as the one to develop commercially. Dr. George Graves was chosen by Carothers to work on the project. Graves were eventually appointed by Graves as the project's leader. Hundreds of chemists and engineers also worked on refining polyamide 6-6 into a commercially useful drug.

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