Christian Friedrich Schönbein

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Christian Friedrich Schönbein, 1857

Christian Friedrich Schönbein (born October 18, 1799 in Metzingen , † August 29, 1868 in Baden-Baden ) was a German-Swiss chemist and physicist . He discovered ozone (1839), the principle of the fuel cell (1838) and gun cotton (1846).

Life

Early years

Christian Friedrich Schönbein-Benz (1799–1868) professor of chemistry and physics, discoverer of fuel cells and ozone, inventor of gun cotton (nitrocellulose). Grave in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery, Basel
Grave in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery , Basel

Christian Friedrich Schönbein came from a Pietist family, his father was a dyer , post office and accountant . In 1812 he was accepted as an apprentice in a pharmaceutical factory in Böblingen after completing elementary school . After working in the factory for seven years, he went to Stuttgart to take an exam - the only one in his life - with Karl Friedrich Kielmeyer . He then became director of the chemical plant in Hemhofen near Erlangen , the owner of which advised him to study.

From 1820 he studied chemistry in Erlangen , where he met Justus Liebig and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling , who later financed his studies. During his studies he became a member of the old Erlanger fraternity in 1821 and a member of the Germania Tübingen fraternity in 1822 ; During this time he made friends with the journalists Gustav Kolb and Christian Friedrich Wurm, who were also fraternized . Schönbein then accepted a teaching position for chemistry, physics and mineralogy at an educational institution from Friedrich Fröbel in Keilhau near Rudolstadt for two years before he went to Epsom near London as a teacher . He then continued his studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he was trained by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac , Louis Jacques Thénard and André-Marie Ampère , among others . He then went to Stanmore as a teacher before finally becoming an untitled professor at the University of Basel at the age of 29 .

Basel time

Christian Friedrich-Schönbein, 1799–1868, grave in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery, Basel
Gravestone in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery, Basel

Here he represented the sick lecturer Peter Merian for two years so well that he was made an honorary doctorate in 1829 and a full professor of chemistry in 1835.

During the time of the separation of the cantons from Basel , he sided with the city in order to secure the continued existence of the university. To do this, he volunteered for the academic volunteer corps , with which he worked for three weeks. This advocacy for the city earned him a lot of sympathy. In 1835 he also received citizenship of the city of Basel. In the same year he married Emilie Benz from Stuttgart; the marriage resulted in four children.

As a long-standing member of the municipal lighting commission and as co-founder and head of the museum association for the procurement of scientific and art collections , he made a contribution to the well-being of the city of Basel, which gave him honorary citizenship in 1840 . He also campaigned for the improvement of hygienic conditions in Basel by creating a sewer system . Among other things, he founded the Basler Liedertafel and the Basler Hebelstiftung , of which he was president from 1860 to 1868.

In 1848 he was elected for the Conservatives in the Cantonal Parliament, the Grand Council , of which he belonged until his death. There he caused a stir when he advocated a separation of state and church , but this was rejected. From 1851 he was also a member of the city ​​council of Basel.

In 1868 he took a cure for gout in Bad Wildbad . He died during a stay in Baden-Baden . His burial took place after his corpse had been repatriated in Basel, with the university and its students attending, on St. Theodor Gottesacker. Today his grave is on the Wolfgottesacker in Basel .

Scientific work

The principle of the fuel cell (1838)

In Basel he initially dealt with isomerism and chemical passivity (1835). Briefly immersing iron in nitric acid made the iron passive. In 1838 Schönbein created a simple fuel cell by washing two platinum wires in hydrochloric acid with hydrogen or oxygen and noticing an electrical voltage between the wires . A year later he published these results.

The discovery of ozone (1839)

A little later Schönbein developed further ideas about the cause of the electrochemical current and the affinity for the formation of substances. He was also interested in the catalysis of reactions. Due to the strange smell of the electrolytic separation of oxygen, Schönbein concluded in 1839 that there was a new material substance, ozone . His philological colleague Wilhelm Vischer-Bilfinger suggested the name for the new material . In a later period Schönbein also developed the detection methods for ozone ( potassium iodide in starch turns blue, indigo is discolored, etc.).

The discovery of gun cotton (1846)

When investigating questions about the molecular type of ozone, Schönbein believed in a connection with nitric acid (this acid also has a peculiar smell). He now examined several substances, including sulfur , sugar , paper and cotton , under the influence of nitric acid. The reaction of nitric acid with cotton resulted in an interesting material, gun cotton (1846). He had discovered this in an accident in 1832 (he wiped up nitric and sulfuric acid with a cotton apron and hung them to dry in front of a fireplace, creating a flame). Schönbein investigated this substance as an explosive to replace gunpowder . Although he was aiming for large-scale manufacturing with partners, spontaneous explosions made it seem completely impossible at that time.

Further research areas

Schönbein's areas of research were far-reaching: in 1838 he coined the term geochemistry , developed the first test for the detection of blood from hydrogen peroxide in 1863 and dealt with biological issues, for example red blood cells , urine and fungi . In particular, he was interested in the preservation of food (meat, vegetables) against biological destruction.

Schönbein also dealt with the nitrogenous combustion products of the air and assumed that the inert atmospheric nitrogen is converted into ammonia-containing products in the plant through such oxidation processes . Schönbein now examined the effects of nitrate and nitrites on plants.

Memberships

Honors

Lithograph by Rudolf Hoffmann 1858

Works

  • The behavior of iron in relation to oxygen. 1837.
  • Observations on the electrical effects of the trembling eel. Basel 1841.
  • Communications from the travel diary of a naturalist: England. 1842.
  • About the frequency of contact effects in the field of chemistry. 1843.
  • About the chemical production of ozone. Basel 1844.
  • Contributions to physical chemistry. 1844.
  • Memorandum on Ozone. 1849.
  • The University of Basel, what it demands and what it does ... (together with Johannes Schnell ) 1851.
  • About the meanings and ultimate purpose of natural science. 1853.
  • People and things. Communications from the travel diary of a German naturalist. Stuttgart 1855.
  • People and things in Russia. Beliefs and studies. 1856.
  • About the connection between catalytic phenomena and allotropy. Basel 1856.
  • Announcements about metallic super oxides. Munich 1857.
  • Contributions to a closer knowledge of oxygen. Munich 1858.

literature

Web links

Commons : Christian Friedrich Schönbein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Christian Friedrich Schönbein  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DLR - Institute for Technical Thermodynamics: Introduction to the high temperature fuel cell (SOFC) .
  2. ^ Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 5: R – S. Winter, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-8253-1256-9 , pp. 304-305.
  3. ^ Epsom and Ewell History Explorer: Christian Friedrich Schönbein .
  4. ^ Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 5: R – S. Winter, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-8253-1256-9 , p. 304.
  5. ↑ Derek Lowe, Das Chemiebuch, Librero 2017, p. 134
  6. ↑ Jochen Gartz: From Greek fire to dynamite - a cultural history of explosives. ES Mittler & Sohn, Hamburg-Berlin-Bonn 2007, p. 126 ff., ISBN 978-3-8132-0867-2 .
  7. ↑ Stefan Hess / Tomas Lochman (eds.), Classical beauty and patriotic heroism. The Basel sculptor Ferdinand Schlöth (1818–1891). Basel 2004, p. 174 f.
  8. ↑ spalenvorstadt.ch: Schönbeinstrasse ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.spalenvorstadt.ch
  9. ↑ leverkusen.com: Christian-Friedrich-Schönbein-Str.
  10. ↑ ETH Life - the daily web journal: Award for fuel cell research - energy for tomorrow
  11. ^ Stamp catalog: Postage stamp ‹Schönbein, Christian Friedrich ( Memento from 7 July 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
personal data
SURNAME Schönbein, Christian Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Swiss chemist
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1799
PLACE OF BIRTH Metzingen
DATE OF DEATH August 29, 1868
Place of death Baden-Baden