Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory (Oxford)

The Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory in the snow.

The Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory (PTCL) is a major chemistry laboratory at the University of Oxford, England. It is located in main Science Area of the University on South Parks Road. Previously it was known as the Physical Chemistry Laboratory.^[1]

History

The original Physical Chemistry Laboratory was built in 1941^[2] and at that time also housed the inorganic chemistry laboratory. It replaced the Balliol-Trinity Laboratories.^[3] The east wing of the building was completed in 1959 and inorganic chemistry, already in its own building on South Parks Road, then became a separate department in 1961. In 1972, the Department of Theoretical Chemistry was established in a house on South Parks Road, and in 1994, the amalgamation of the physical and theoretical chemistry departments took place. This was followed shortly by the theoretical group moving into the PTCL annexe in 1995.

Oxford University is in the early planning stages of the demolition of the PCTL building, to be replaced by a second chemistry research laboratory.^[4]

Selected chemists

The following Oxford chemists are of note:

• John Albery
• Peter Atkins
• Ronnie Bell
• E. J. Bowen
• Richard G. Compton
• Charles Coulson
• Frederick Dainton
• Cyril Hinshelwood
• Peter J. Hore
• Graham Richards
• Rex Richards
• Robert K. Thomas
• Harold Thompson

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Balliol-Trinity Laboratories, a forerunner of the PCTL
• Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford

References

1. Williams, Robert J. P.; Chapman, Allan; Rowlinson, John S., eds. (2009). Chemistry at Oxford: A History from 1600 to 2005. UK: RSC Publishing. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-85404-139-8.
2. "The Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory: The First Sixty Years". Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory. UK: University of Oxford. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
3. Bowen, Edmund J. (December 1970). "The Balliol-Trinity Laboratories 1853–1940". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 25 (2): 227–236.
4. "Oxford Universitet Kemisk Institut CRL2". Denmark: Schmidt/Hammer/Lassen Architects. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.

External links

• Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory website
• Physical and Theoretical Chemistry: Research programmes at Oxford University
• Paintings at Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford from the BBC