Neil Bartlett

Neil Bartlett (1932–2008) was a British chemist who prepared the first reported xenon compound in 1962, overturning the view that noble gases could not form compounds.

Xenon hexafluoroplatinate: The product Bartlett obtained by reacting xenon with platinum hexafluoride, commonly represented as Xe+[PtF6]−. This was the first reported xenon compound, formed when platinum hexafluoride oxidized xenon.
University of British Columbia: A public research university in Vancouver, Canada. Bartlett carried out the xenon experiment there in 1962.
William Ramsay: A Scottish chemist who discovered several noble gases and received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Ramsay established the noble-gas family whose supposed inertness Bartlett later challenged.
Xenon tetrafluoride: A xenon compound with formula XeF4 and a square-planar molecular structure. Its preparation in 1962 showed that Bartlett’s result was the start of a larger xenon chemistry.
Octet rule: A chemical rule of thumb that atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons to achieve eight valence electrons. Bartlett’s compounds showed that simple electron-counting rules could not justify treating noble gases as universally inert.
Platinum hexafluoride: A volatile platinum compound and strong oxidizing agent with formula PtF6. Its ability to oxidize oxygen suggested it might also remove an electron from xenon.
Oxygen hexafluoroplatinate: A salt formed when oxygen reacts with platinum hexafluoride, often represented as O2+[PtF6]−. Bartlett’s earlier preparation of this salt supplied the chemical analogy behind his xenon experiment.
Dale P. C. Smith: A chemist who collaborated with Neil Bartlett on research into noble-gas compounds. Smith worked with Bartlett during the period when xenon chemistry was being established.
Xenon hexafluoride: A xenon fluoride with formula XeF6 and a distorted octahedral molecular structure. Its later preparation extended the range of known xenon oxidation states and structures.
Argon compounds: Rare compounds containing argon, generally requiring unusual conditions or specialized bonding environments. Argon’s greater resistance to compound formation shows why Bartlett’s xenon result did not generalize equally across the group.

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