Radical chemistry pioneer Moses Gomberg probably made a trivalent carbon years before he realised

By Mason Wakley2026-03-03T09:45:00

An old black and white photo of Moses Gomberg working in his lab

Source: University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

Recreation of Gomberg’s experiments suggests that he may have made a hypovalent carbon species years before reporting their discovery

Moses Gomberg, often referred to as the ‘father of radical organic chemistry’, may have unknowingly made a trivalent carbon years before he reported the discovery of these chemical species in 1900.¹ Chemists who recreated one of Gomberg’s experiments say that the findings could have strengthened his evidence that carbon could only have three bonds, leading to earlier acceptance by the chemistry community.