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His primary education started late; aged 8 he entered Grade 4 at [[Ormond, Victoria|Ormond]] State School, then he was educated from age 13 at [[Melbourne High School|Melbourne Boys High School]] 1931-1936. He joined a school debating team, and the orchestra, of which he was leader in 1934, and was elected a [[Prefect#Academic|prefect]] in 1935.<ref>{{cite news|date=23 July 1935|title=FOR YOUNG PEOPLE|page=4|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25,045|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203991326|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He was a [[Amateur radio|ham radio]] enthusiast, and in his 3rd year there was involved in the school Wireless Club, of which he became Vice-President, and built his own set, the 'MHS Twin'. It was an interest that he continued into adulthood, when in 1949 he was issued an Amateur Radio Licence,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Savage|first=Luke|date=October 2020|title=Radio Days|url=https://mhsoba.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MHSOBA_Newsletter_Sept_Oct_2020.pdf|journal=Melbourne High School Old Boys’ Association Inc. Newsletter|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref> and one he maintained throughout his life.
His primary education started late; aged 8 he entered Grade 4 at [[Ormond, Victoria|Ormond]] State School, then he was educated from age 13 at [[Melbourne High School|Melbourne Boys High School]] 1931-1936. He joined a school debating team, and the orchestra, of which he was leader in 1934, and was elected a [[Prefect#Academic|prefect]] in 1935.<ref>{{cite news|date=23 July 1935|title=FOR YOUNG PEOPLE|page=4|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25,045|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203991326|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He was a [[Amateur radio|ham radio]] enthusiast, and in his 3rd year there was involved in the school Wireless Club, of which he became Vice-President, and built his own set, the 'MHS Twin'. It was an interest that he continued into adulthood, when in 1949 he was issued an Amateur Radio Licence,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Savage|first=Luke|date=October 2020|title=Radio Days|url=https://mhsoba.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MHSOBA_Newsletter_Sept_Oct_2020.pdf|journal=Melbourne High School Old Boys’ Association Inc. Newsletter|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref> and one he maintained throughout his life.


In 1937 McTaggart passed his first year of a [[Bachelor of Science]]<ref>{{cite news|date=22 January 1937|title=UNIVERSITY PASSES.|page=14|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25513|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206193260|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> in Chemistry at [[University of Melbourne|Melbourne University]]<ref>{{cite news|date=7 February 1938|title=UNIVERSITY CLASS LISTS AND EXHIBITIONS|page=16|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25,837|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206743016|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=22 February 1936|title=MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY.|page=24|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25228|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205237696|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and in April 1939 was conferred Bachelor of science in Wilson Hall<ref>{{cite news|date=1 April 1939|title=PAGEANT AT 'VARSITY DEGREE CONFERRING|page=43|newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]]|issue=19,305|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243350831|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and in 1940 gained his [[Master of Science]] with first class honours.<ref>{{cite news|date=15 April 1940|title=CONFERRING OF DEGREES|page=10|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=26,519|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204419520|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>University of Melbourne Degrees Conferred 1940 https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/23435/109998_UMC194120_Degrees%20Conferred%201940.pdf?sequence=21&isAllowed=y</ref> An doctorate in Chemistry was conferred in recognition of his CSIRO work at Melbourne University in 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|last=University of Melbourne|first=|date=March 1965|title=Degrees and Diplomas Conferred, 1965 10th March, 1965|url=https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/23413/108892_UMC1966-6718_Degrees%20and%20Diplomas%20Conferred.pdf?sequence=19&isAllowed=y|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Digitised collections University of Melbourne}}</ref>
In 1937 McTaggart passed his first year of a [[Bachelor of Science]]<ref>{{cite news|date=22 January 1937|title=UNIVERSITY PASSES.|page=14|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25513|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206193260|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> in Chemistry at [[University of Melbourne|Melbourne University]]<ref>{{cite news|date=7 February 1938|title=UNIVERSITY CLASS LISTS AND EXHIBITIONS|page=16|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25,837|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206743016|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=22 February 1936|title=MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY.|page=24|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=25228|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205237696|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and in April 1939 was conferred Bachelor of science in Wilson Hall<ref>{{cite news|date=1 April 1939|title=PAGEANT AT 'VARSITY DEGREE CONFERRING|page=43|newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]]|issue=19,305|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243350831|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and in 1940 gained his [[Master of Science]] with first class honours.<ref>{{cite news|date=15 April 1940|title=CONFERRING OF DEGREES|page=10|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=26,519|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204419520|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>University of Melbourne Degrees Conferred 1940 https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/23435/109998_UMC194120_Degrees%20Conferred%201940.pdf?sequence=21&isAllowed=y</ref> A doctorate in Chemistry was conferred in 1965 by Melbourne University in recognition of his later professional research.<ref>{{Cite web|last=University of Melbourne|first=|date=March 1965|title=Degrees and Diplomas Conferred, 1965 10th March, 1965|url=https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/23413/108892_UMC1966-6718_Degrees%20and%20Diplomas%20Conferred.pdf?sequence=19&isAllowed=y|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Digitised collections University of Melbourne}}</ref>


== Career ==
== Career ==
In November 1940 McTaggart worked at Carbide Works at [[Electrona, Tasmania|Electrona]] in Tasmania until mid-1941, then returned to Melbourne to live at 4 Kenilworth Gve. [[Glen Iris, Victoria|Glen Iris]].
In November 1940 McTaggart worked at Carbide Works at [[Electrona, Tasmania|Electrona]] in Tasmania until mid-1941, then returned to Melbourne to live at 4 Kenilworth Gve. [[Glen Iris, Victoria|Glen Iris]].


=== C.S.I.R.O. ===
⚫
In 1942, on the recommendation of the [[CSIRAC|Council for Scientific and Industrial Research]], McTaggart was made an employee of the [[CSIRO|Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation]], working at their facilities at Melbourne University. He first investigated the chlorination of rutile found in Australian heavy beach sands which produced [[titanium tetrachloride]]; its importance in wartime was the dense white fume it produced on exposure to moist air, making it an effective smokescreen. Given an increasing shortage of tin, his team also commenced investigations into the production of titanium tetrachloride as an alternative material to replace [[Tin(IV) chloride|stannic (tin) chloride]] in a number of applications. Previously prepared overseas by chlorinating titanium white pigment ([[titanium dioxide]]), McTaggart's work was to demonstrate that the potential expense of proposals to import titanium white could be avoided through his development of a process in which rutile sand, briquetted with coal or charcoal, was chlorinated directly,. At first operated on a pilot-plant scale with Australian rutile sand replacing titanium pigment, the process was adopted for the large-scale manufacture.
In 1942, on the recommendation of the [[CSIRAC|Council for Scientific and Industrial Research]], McTaggart was made an employee of the [[CSIRO|Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation]], working at their facilities at Melbourne University. He first investigated the chlorination of [[rutile]] found in Australian heavy beach sands which produced [[titanium tetrachloride]]; its importance in [[World War II]] then underway was the dense white fume it produced on exposure to moist air, making it an effective [[smoke screen]].


=== Tin ===
⚫
Described as "one of the more imaginative members" of the Organisation,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Bear|first=IJ|last2=Biegler|first2=T|last3=Scott|first3=TR|date=2001|title=Alumina to Zirconia|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9780643104884|doi=10.1071/9780643104884}}</ref> McTaggart continued mineral chlorination studies and early in 1944, Ian Kraitzer joined the research group in what was to become the Minerals Utilization Section of the future CSIR Division of Industrial Chemistry (created 1959),<ref name=":0" /> and they by a young recruit, [[Isabel Joy Bear]] as a Junior Laboratory Assistant,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-01-13|title=Isabel ‘Joy’ Bear|url=https://csiropedia.csiro.au/bear-isabel-joy/|access-date=2020-12-19|website=CSIROpedia|language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=McTaggart|first=F. K.|last2=Bear|first2=Joy|date=1955|title=Phototropic effects in oxides. I. Titanium dioxide|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jctb.5010051203|journal=Journal of Applied Chemistry|language=en|volume=5|issue=12|pages=643–653|doi=10.1002/jctb.5010051203|issn=1934-998X}}</ref> and later by Charles Alsope, together seeking new uses for titanium tetrachloride. In the [[Alkoxide|alkoxides]] of [[titanium]], in particular the properties of polymerised [[Titanium butoxide|butyl titanate]], they discovered an excellent vehicle for heat-resisting paint pigments; a use of titanium esters that was patented by CSIR, a project in which the the Defence laboratories joined Kraitzer and McTaggart 's laboratory tests, with paint formulation studies by Defence laboratories' George Winter (who later joined the Division of Mineral Chemistry). After McTaggart presented an account of their findings in Paris and London, industrial firms in England and the USA were soon marketing the new paint, and its heat-resistance was still attracting attention as late as 1962, though with no acknowledgment of the Australian contribution.<ref name=":0" />
⚫
Given an increasing wartime shortage of tin, his team also commenced investigations into the production of titanium tetrachloride as an alternative material to replace [[Tin(IV) chloride|stannic (tin) chloride]] in a number of applications. Previously prepared overseas by chlorinating titanium white pigment ([[titanium dioxide]]), McTaggart's work was to demonstrate that the potential expense of proposals to import titanium white could be avoided through his development of a process in which rutile sand, briquetted with coal or charcoal, was chlorinated directly. At first operated on a pilot-plant scale with Australian rutile sand replacing titanium pigment, the process was adopted for the large-scale manufacture.

=== Heat-resistant paint ===
⚫
Described as "one of the more imaginative members" of the Organisation,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Bear|first=IJ|last2=Biegler|first2=T|last3=Scott|first3=TR|date=2001|title=Alumina to Zirconia|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9780643104884|doi=10.1071/9780643104884}}</ref> McTaggart continued mineral chlorination studies and early in 1944, Ian Kraitzer joined the research group in what was to become the Minerals Utilization Section of the future CSIR Division of Industrial Chemistry (created 1959),<ref name=":0" /> and they by a young recruit, [[Isabel Joy Bear]] as a Junior Laboratory Assistant,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-01-13|title=Isabel ‘Joy’ Bear|url=https://csiropedia.csiro.au/bear-isabel-joy/|access-date=2020-12-19|website=CSIROpedia|language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=McTaggart|first=F. K.|last2=Bear|first2=Joy|date=1955|title=Phototropic effects in oxides. I. Titanium dioxide|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jctb.5010051203|journal=Journal of Applied Chemistry|language=en|volume=5|issue=12|pages=643–653|doi=10.1002/jctb.5010051203|issn=1934-998X}}</ref> and later by Charles Alsope, together seeking new uses for titanium tetrachloride. In the [[Alkoxide|alkoxides]] of [[titanium]], in particular the properties of polymerised [[Titanium butoxide|butyl titanate]], they discovered an excellent vehicle for heat-resisting paint pigments; it was a use of titanium esters that was patented by CSIR, a project in which the the Defence laboratories joined Kraitzer and McTaggart 's laboratory tests with paint formulation studies by Defence laboratories' George Winter (who later joined the Division of Mineral Chemistry). After McTaggart presented an account of their findings in Paris and London, industrial firms in England and the USA were soon marketing the new paint, and its heat-resistance was still attracting attention as late as 1962, though with no acknowledgment of the Australian contribution.<ref name=":0" />


For this work McTaggart was awarded the University of Melbourne's Grosvenor Laboratories Prize for 1946 by the [[Royal Australian Chemical Institute|Australian Chemical Institute]], for work in applied chemical science on futile sand, [[Phosphorite|phosphate rock]], [[graphite]] and [[beryl]] "which has contributed to the advancement of the welfare of the community",<ref>{{cite news|date=5 May 1947|title=PERSONAL|volume=CLXV,|page=3|newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]]|issue=23,839|location=Tasmania, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26417143|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=5 May 1947|title=PERSONAL|page=2|newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]]|issue=31,411|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22424213|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=12 May 1947|title=PERSONAL.|volume=63,|page=7 (SECOND EDITION.)|newspaper=[[The West Australian]]|issue=18,977|location=Western Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46311129|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=6 May 1947|title=PERSONAL|page=2|newspaper=[[Newcastle Morning Herald And Miners' Advocate]]|issue=22,024|location=New South Wales, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140320733|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=5 May 1947|title=ABOUT PEOPLE|page=2|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=28,712|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206019672|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and the Grimwade prize in industrial research for 1946 for his "Mineral Chlorination Studies.”<ref>{{cite news|date=13 July 1946|title=PERSONAL|page=2|newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]]|issue=31,159|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22318010|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
For this work McTaggart was awarded the University of Melbourne's Grosvenor Laboratories Prize for 1946 by the [[Royal Australian Chemical Institute|Australian Chemical Institute]], for work in applied chemical science on futile sand, [[Phosphorite|phosphate rock]], [[graphite]] and [[beryl]] "which has contributed to the advancement of the welfare of the community",<ref>{{cite news|date=5 May 1947|title=PERSONAL|volume=CLXV,|page=3|newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]]|issue=23,839|location=Tasmania, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26417143|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=5 May 1947|title=PERSONAL|page=2|newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]]|issue=31,411|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22424213|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=12 May 1947|title=PERSONAL.|volume=63,|page=7 (SECOND EDITION.)|newspaper=[[The West Australian]]|issue=18,977|location=Western Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46311129|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=6 May 1947|title=PERSONAL|page=2|newspaper=[[Newcastle Morning Herald And Miners' Advocate]]|issue=22,024|location=New South Wales, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140320733|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=5 May 1947|title=ABOUT PEOPLE|page=2|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issue=28,712|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206019672|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and the Grimwade prize in industrial research for 1946 for his "Mineral Chlorination Studies.”<ref>{{cite news|date=13 July 1946|title=PERSONAL|page=2|newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]]|issue=31,159|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22318010|accessdate=19 December 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
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In June 1965 McTaggart presented at the VIIth International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, and in April 1967, was invited by the [[United States Air Force]] to the [[American Chemical Society]] Conference at Miami, Florida, then addressed the [[Institution of Mining and Metallurgy]] Conference in London.<ref name=":0" />
In June 1965 McTaggart presented at the VIIth International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, and in April 1967, was invited by the [[United States Air Force]] to the [[American Chemical Society]] Conference at Miami, Florida, then addressed the [[Institution of Mining and Metallurgy]] Conference in London.<ref name=":0" />


=== Plasma patents ===
His research led to patents as assignor to the CSIRO, including US 3,533,777 ''Production of metals from their halides'' filed Nov. 2 1966 for an apparatus and process for producing metals from the [[Halide|halides]] of metals of Groups I, II, III and [[Rare-earth element|rare earth]] metals. It comprised of generating a plasma through high frequency eIectromagnetic energy within a gas or a vapor of that halide to cause the halide to dissociate, and then separating the metal thus produced from the other dissociation products, a process in which an auxiliary gas, hydrogen, helium or nitrogen, may also be used in conjunction with the halide.<ref>Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. (1970). United States: U.S. Patent Office https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/_/_HPNAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA532&dq=Frederick+Kenneth+McTaggart</ref> He filed another patent<ref>{{Cite patent|title=Plasma sintering|gdate=1967-09-05|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US3432296A/en}}</ref> on Sept. 5, 1967 for ''Plasma sintering'' with Neil Mckinnon, B.C.E. Garnsworthy, Lloyd S. Williams, which was issued March 11, 1969<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plasma sintering - Patent US-3432296-A - PubChem|url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/patent/US-3432296-A|access-date=2020-12-19|website=pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref><ref>United States. Patent Office (1969) Index of Patents Issued from the United States Patent Office, Part 1], United States. Patent Office</ref>
McTaggart's research led to patents as assignor to the CSIRO, including US 3,533,777 ''Production of metals from their halides'' filed Nov. 2 1966 for an apparatus and process for producing metals from the [[Halide|halides]] of metals of Groups I, II, III and [[Rare-earth element|rare earth]] metals. It comprised of generating a plasma through high frequency eIectromagnetic energy within a gas or a vapor of that halide to cause the halide to dissociate, and then separating the metal thus produced from the other dissociation products, a process in which an auxiliary gas, hydrogen, helium or nitrogen, may also be used in conjunction with the halide.<ref>Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. (1970). United States: U.S. Patent Office https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/_/_HPNAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA532&dq=Frederick+Kenneth+McTaggart</ref> He filed another patent<ref>{{Cite patent|title=Plasma sintering|gdate=1967-09-05|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US3432296A/en}}</ref> on Sept. 5, 1967 for ''Plasma sintering'' with Neil Mckinnon, B.C.E. Garnsworthy, Lloyd S. Williams, which was issued March 11, 1969<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plasma sintering - Patent US-3432296-A - PubChem|url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/patent/US-3432296-A|access-date=2020-12-19|website=pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref><ref>United States. Patent Office (1969) Index of Patents Issued from the United States Patent Office, Part 1], United States. Patent Office</ref>


=== Author ===
Aside from his oft-cited ''Plasma chemistry in electrical discharges'' published 1967 in 16 editions in 4 languages,<ref>{{Citation|author1=McTaggart, F. K. (Frederick Kenneth)|title=Plasma chemistry in electrical discharges|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10679900|publication-date=1967|publisher=Elsevier|access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref> McTaggart was author or co-author on a number of papers in journals including ''Australian Journal of Chemistry, Nature,'' and the ''Journal of Applied Chemistry'' on experimental research into its physics and chemistry and its applications.
Aside from his oft-cited ''Plasma chemistry in electrical discharges'' published 1967 in 16 editions in 4 languages,<ref>{{Citation|author1=McTaggart, F. K. (Frederick Kenneth)|title=Plasma chemistry in electrical discharges|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10679900|publication-date=1967|publisher=Elsevier|access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref> McTaggart was author or co-author on a number of papers in journals including ''Australian Journal of Chemistry, Nature,'' and the ''Journal of Applied Chemistry'' on experimental research into its physics and chemistry and its applications.


Revision as of 05:07, 20 December 2020

Frederick Kenneth McTaggart (30 November 1917 – 2004) was an Australian scientist who led pioneering research into studies in microwave chemistry and gas plasma reactions[1] – the production and use of ionised gas –and its applications from electronics to thermal coatings, and leading to subsequent treatment of polymers to fuel conversion and hydrogen production and from plasma metallurgy to plasma medicine. He invented and patented for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation novel apparatuses for the production of metals from halides using plasma jets or microwaves, and published in the field.

Early life and education

Frederick Kenneth McTaggart (known as 'Ken') was born in 30 November 1917 at Elsternwick, Victoria to Cyril McTaggart and Hilda Theresa McTaggart (born Daniel).

His primary education started late; aged 8 he entered Grade 4 at Ormond State School, then he was educated from age 13 at Melbourne Boys High School 1931-1936. He joined a school debating team, and the orchestra, of which he was leader in 1934, and was elected a prefect in 1935.[2] He was a ham radio enthusiast, and in his 3rd year there was involved in the school Wireless Club, of which he became Vice-President, and built his own set, the 'MHS Twin'. It was an interest that he continued into adulthood, when in 1949 he was issued an Amateur Radio Licence,[3] and one he maintained throughout his life.

In 1937 McTaggart passed his first year of a Bachelor of Science[4] in Chemistry at Melbourne University[5][6] and in April 1939 was conferred Bachelor of science in Wilson Hall[7] and in 1940 gained his Master of Science with first class honours.[8][9] A doctorate in Chemistry was conferred in 1965 by Melbourne University in recognition of his later professional research.[10]

Career

In November 1940 McTaggart worked at Carbide Works at Electrona in Tasmania until mid-1941, then returned to Melbourne to live at 4 Kenilworth Gve. Glen Iris.

C.S.I.R.O.

In 1942, on the recommendation of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, McTaggart was made an employee of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, working at their facilities at Melbourne University. He first investigated the chlorination of rutile found in Australian heavy beach sands which produced titanium tetrachloride; its importance in World War II then underway was the dense white fume it produced on exposure to moist air, making it an effective smoke screen.

Tin

Given an increasing wartime shortage of tin, his team also commenced investigations into the production of titanium tetrachloride as an alternative material to replace stannic (tin) chloride in a number of applications. Previously prepared overseas by chlorinating titanium white pigment (titanium dioxide), McTaggart's work was to demonstrate that the potential expense of proposals to import titanium white could be avoided through his development of a process in which rutile sand, briquetted with coal or charcoal, was chlorinated directly. At first operated on a pilot-plant scale with Australian rutile sand replacing titanium pigment, the process was adopted for the large-scale manufacture.

Heat-resistant paint

Described as "one of the more imaginative members" of the Organisation,[11] McTaggart continued mineral chlorination studies and early in 1944, Ian Kraitzer joined the research group in what was to become the Minerals Utilization Section of the future CSIR Division of Industrial Chemistry (created 1959),[11] and they by a young recruit, Isabel Joy Bear as a Junior Laboratory Assistant,[12][13] and later by Charles Alsope, together seeking new uses for titanium tetrachloride. In the alkoxides of titanium, in particular the properties of polymerised butyl titanate, they discovered an excellent vehicle for heat-resisting paint pigments; it was a use of titanium esters that was patented by CSIR, a project in which the the Defence laboratories joined Kraitzer and McTaggart 's laboratory tests with paint formulation studies by Defence laboratories' George Winter (who later joined the Division of Mineral Chemistry). After McTaggart presented an account of their findings in Paris and London, industrial firms in England and the USA were soon marketing the new paint, and its heat-resistance was still attracting attention as late as 1962, though with no acknowledgment of the Australian contribution.[11]

For this work McTaggart was awarded the University of Melbourne's Grosvenor Laboratories Prize for 1946 by the Australian Chemical Institute, for work in applied chemical science on futile sand, phosphate rock, graphite and beryl "which has contributed to the advancement of the welfare of the community",[14][15][16][17][18] and the Grimwade prize in industrial research for 1946 for his "Mineral Chlorination Studies.”[19]

McTaggart left in 1950 to work in the UK with the British company, Laporte Industries where his work found commercial potential. Two years later he returned to the CSIRO, pioneering studies in microwave chemistry and gas plasma reactions.

In June 1965 McTaggart presented at the VIIth International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases, and in April 1967, was invited by the United States Air Force to the American Chemical Society Conference at Miami, Florida, then addressed the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy Conference in London.[11]

Plasma patents

McTaggart's research led to patents as assignor to the CSIRO, including US 3,533,777 Production of metals from their halides filed Nov. 2 1966 for an apparatus and process for producing metals from the halides of metals of Groups I, II, III and rare earth metals. It comprised of generating a plasma through high frequency eIectromagnetic energy within a gas or a vapor of that halide to cause the halide to dissociate, and then separating the metal thus produced from the other dissociation products, a process in which an auxiliary gas, hydrogen, helium or nitrogen, may also be used in conjunction with the halide.[20] He filed another patent[21] on Sept. 5, 1967 for Plasma sintering with Neil Mckinnon, B.C.E. Garnsworthy, Lloyd S. Williams, which was issued March 11, 1969[22][23]

Author

Aside from his oft-cited Plasma chemistry in electrical discharges published 1967 in 16 editions in 4 languages,[24] McTaggart was author or co-author on a number of papers in journals including Australian Journal of Chemistry, Nature, and the Journal of Applied Chemistry on experimental research into its physics and chemistry and its applications.

McTaggart was a member of the Society of Crystallographers in Australia (SCA).[25]

Publications:

  • McTaggart FK Turnbull AG (1964) Zirconium difluoride. Australian Journal of Chemistry 17, 727-730. https://doi.org/10.1071/CH9640727
  • McTaggart FK (1964) Reactions of carbon monoxide in a high-frequency discharge. Australian Journal of Chemistry 17, 1182-1187. https://doi.org/10.1071/CH9641182
  • McTAGGART, F. New proton-Containing Oxides of Titanium, Zirconium and Hafnium. Nature 199, 339–341 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/199339a0
  • McTAGGART, F. Reduction of the Alkali and Alkaline Earth Halides by Active Hydrogen. Nature 206, 616 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/206616a0
  • McTaggart, F.K. Systematic chemistry of the transition elements - recent chemistry of titanium, zirconium and hafnium. Reviews in Pure and Applied Chemistry. 1951. 152-170. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/337739?index=1
  • McTaggart, F.K. and Bear, J. (1955), Phototropic effects in oxides. I. Titanium dioxide. J. Appl. Chem., 5: 643-653. https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.5010051203
  • Graham, J., & McTaggart, F. K. (1960). Observations on the systems Th-S, Th-Se and Th-Te. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 13(1), 67-73.
  • McTaggart, F. K., & Wadsley, A. D. (1958). The sulphides, selenides, and tellurides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, and thorium. I. Preparation and characterization. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 11(4), 445-457.
  • McTaggart, F. K. (1961). Reduction of zirconium and hafnium Oxides. Nature, 191(4794), 1192-1192.
  • Blackwood, J. D., & McTaggart, F. K. (1959). Reactions of carbon with atomic gases. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 12(4), 533-542.
  • Blackwood, J. D., & McTaggart, F. K. (1959). The oxidation of carbon with atomic oxygen. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 12(2), 114-121.
  • McTaggart, F. K. (1964). Reduction of silica in a hydrogen discharge. Nature, 201(4926), 1320-1321.
  • McTaggart, F. K., & Turnbull, A. G. (1964). Zirconium difluoride. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 17(7), 727-730
  • Dorman, F. H., & McTaggart, F. K. (1970). Absorption of microwave power by plasmas. Journal of Microwave Power, 5(1), 4-16.
  • McTaggart, F. K. (1964). Reactions of carbon monoxide in a high-frequency discharge. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 17(10), 1182-1187.
  • McTaggart, F. K., & Moore, A. (1958). The sulphides, Selenides, and Tellurides of Titanium, Zirconium, Hafnium, and Thorium. IV. Lubrication properties of the graphitic chalcogenides. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 11(4), 481-484.
  • Black, A. L., Dunster, R. W., Sanders, J. V., & McTaggart, F. K. (1967). Molybdenum bisulphide deposits—their formation and characteristics on automotive engine parts. Wear, 10(1), 17-32.McTaggart, F. K. (1963). New proton-containing oxides of titanium, zirconium and hafnium. Nature, 199(4891), 339-341.
  • McTaggart, F. K. (1965). Reduction of the alkali and alkaline earth halides in high-frequency discharges. I. Hydrogen discharge. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 18(7), 937-948.
  • Bear, J., & McTaggart, F. K. (1958). Phototropic effects in oxides. II. White oxides in general. Journal of Applied Chemistry, 8(1), 72-76.
  • Chandler, B. V., & McTaggart, F. K. (1971). Fluorine atoms from an RF electric discharge. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 24(12), 2683-2684.
  • McTaggart, F.K. Mineral chlorination studies. 1. Production of titanium tetrachloride from Australian rutile sand. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 1945; 18(1):5-26. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/338864?index=1
  • McTaggart, F. K. (Frederick Kenneth) (1967), Plasma chemistry in electrical discharges, Elsevier, retrieved 19 December 2020

References

  1. ^ Mineral Chemistry; Research Report. (1967). Australia
  2. ^ "FOR YOUNG PEOPLE". The Age. No. 25, 045. Victoria, Australia. 23 July 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Savage, Luke (October 2020). "Radio Days" (PDF). Melbourne High School Old Boys’ Association Inc. Newsletter.
  4. ^ "UNIVERSITY PASSES". The Age. No. 25513. Victoria, Australia. 22 January 1937. p. 14. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "UNIVERSITY CLASS LISTS AND EXHIBITIONS". The Age. No. 25, 837. Victoria, Australia. 7 February 1938. p. 16. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY". The Age. No. 25228. Victoria, Australia. 22 February 1936. p. 24. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "PAGEANT AT 'VARSITY DEGREE CONFERRING". The Herald. No. 19, 305. Victoria, Australia. 1 April 1939. p. 43. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "CONFERRING OF DEGREES". The Age. No. 26, 519. Victoria, Australia. 15 April 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ University of Melbourne Degrees Conferred 1940 https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/23435/109998_UMC194120_Degrees%20Conferred%201940.pdf?sequence=21&isAllowed=y
  10. ^ University of Melbourne (March 1965). "Degrees and Diplomas Conferred, 1965 10th March, 1965" (PDF). Digitised collections University of Melbourne.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b c d Bear, IJ; Biegler, T; Scott, TR (2001). "Alumina to Zirconia". doi:10.1071/9780643104884. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ "Isabel 'Joy' Bear". CSIROpedia. 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  13. ^ McTaggart, F. K.; Bear, Joy (1955). "Phototropic effects in oxides. I. Titanium dioxide". Journal of Applied Chemistry. 5 (12): 643–653. doi:10.1002/jctb.5010051203. ISSN 1934-998X.
  14. ^ "PERSONAL". The Mercury. Vol. CLXV, , no. 23, 839. Tasmania, Australia. 5 May 1947. p. 3. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  15. ^ "PERSONAL". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 411. Victoria, Australia. 5 May 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "PERSONAL". The West Australian. Vol. 63, , no. 18, 977. Western Australia. 12 May 1947. p. 7 (SECOND EDITION.). Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  17. ^ "PERSONAL". Newcastle Morning Herald And Miners' Advocate. No. 22, 024. New South Wales, Australia. 6 May 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "ABOUT PEOPLE". The Age. No. 28, 712. Victoria, Australia. 5 May 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "PERSONAL". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 159. Victoria, Australia. 13 July 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. (1970). United States: U.S. Patent Office https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/_/_HPNAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA532&dq=Frederick+Kenneth+McTaggart
  21. ^ [1], "Plasma sintering", issued 1967-09-05 
  22. ^ "Plasma sintering - Patent US-3432296-A - PubChem". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  23. ^ United States. Patent Office (1969) Index of Patents Issued from the United States Patent Office, Part 1], United States. Patent Office
  24. ^ McTaggart, F. K. (Frederick Kenneth) (1967), Plasma chemistry in electrical discharges, Elsevier, retrieved 19 December 2020
  25. ^ "First Ewald Prize awarded to John Cowley and Alec Moodie" (PDF). Society of Crystallographers in Australia Newsletter. No.15: 5. June 1987. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
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