Emil Baur

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Emil Baur (1931)

Adolf Emil Baur (born August 4, 1873 in Ulm , † March 14, 1944 in Zurich ) was a chemist and from 1911 to 1943 a full professor of physical chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich . He made contributions to research in electrochemistry , particularly fuel cells . Baur was a pioneer in the fields of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC), including the carbon fuel cell .

Life and fields of work

Baur was born in Ulm and comes from a family of merchants and civil servants. He studied physical chemistry in Munich and Berlin. He received his doctorate in Munich in 1897 and completed his habilitation there in 1901. He worked for Wilhelm Muthmann at the Technical University of Munich and as an assistant for Wilhelm Ostwald in Leipzig. From 1905 he worked as a scientific assistant in the Reich Health Office in Berlin. In 1907 he became professor of physical chemistry at the Technical University of Braunschweig .

Baur, who had already dealt with fuel cells in 1909/1910 and who worked in Zurich from 1911, continued his research on fuel cells there. Baur and his student William Dupré Treadwell (1885–1959) registered two joint patents on fuel cells; Baur himself also worked on a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell with molten sodium hydroxide as the electrolyte. Baur's 1937 publication made solid oxide fuel cells known in the art. He worked unsuccessfully on the conversion of carbon into diamond . In 1914 and 1919, respectively, Baur received patents for the extraction of gold from dilute solutions, especially from the water of the oceans. He assumed that the world's oceans contained the bulk of the gold reserves. In the 1920s, this led to a research project promoted by Fritz Haber , which aimed to extract gold from the oceans , but ultimately remained unsuccessful.

Baur married in 1905 and had a daughter and a son, Arthur Baur (1915-2010), who became known as a linguist. In 1913, Baur was one of the reviewers for Otto Stern's habilitation thesis .

Works (selection)

Baur published over 150 scientific publications.

The important monographs of Baur are:

  • Emil Baur: Determination of transformation points, affinity quantities, heat of dissociation etc. by electrical means . Dissertation University of Munich. V. Höfling, Munich 1897, OCLC 638074867 (49 pages).
  • Emil Baur: Chemical Cosmography . Lectures held at the Kgl. Technical University of Munich in the winter semester of 1902/1903. R. Oldenbourg, Munich 1903, OCLC 163152778 (225 pages).
  • Emil Baur: Short outline of spectroscopy and colorimetry (=  Handbook of applied physical chemistry . No. 5 ). Johann Ambrosius Barth, Leipzig 1907, OCLC 251974380 (122 pages).
  • Emil Baur: Subjects of physical chemistry . Lectures given at the instigation of the Association of German Engineers at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft mb H., Leipzig 1910 ( online in the Internet archive, book from the University of California).
  • Emil Baur, Swiss Water Management Association: The use of electricity for electrochemical and electrometallurgical purposes . Lecture with discussion (=  various publications by the Swiss Water Management Association . No. 7 ). Rascher, Zurich and Leipzig 1915, OCLC 251974582 (OCLC also 637816652. 30 pages).
  • Emil Baur: Research into the photolysis of carbonic acid . Orell Füssli, Zurich 1943, OCLC 3127613 (OCLC also: 601951252, 491632900. 79 pages).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Michael Körner : Large Bavarian Biographical Encyclopedia . Saur, Walter de Gruyter, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-598-11460-1 , p.  117 .
  2. ↑ ETHistory - list of all professors. Retrieved July 20, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b Christian Simon : Four "ordinary" and one extraordinary chemist: microhistory of a department at ETH Zurich 1933-1945 . In: Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker GDCh, Section History of Chemistry (Ed.): Communications of the Section History of Chemistry . tape  18 , 2005, ISSN  0934-8506 , p. 117-147 ( gdch.de [PDF]).
  4. ↑ a b c d Helge Kragh: From Cosmochemistry to Fuel Cells: Notes on Emil Baur, Physical Chemist . In: American Chemical Society, Division of History of Chemistry (Ed.): Bulletin for the History of Chemistry . tape 40 , no. 2 . ACS, 2015, ISSN  1053-4385 , p. 74-85 ( illinois.edu [PDF]).
  5. ^ A b William D. Treadwell: Emil Baur (August 4, 1873 to March 14, 1944). In: Hans Steiner, Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Zürich NGZH (Ed.): Quarterly publication of the Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Zürich . tape 89 , no. 3 . Gebr. Fretz AG, Zurich September 30, 1944, necrologist, p. 222–224 ( online [PDF]).
  6. ^ A b c William D. Treadwell: Emil Baur 1873-1944 . In: Helvetica Chimica Acta . tape 27 , no. 1 , 1944, ISSN  0018-019X , p. 1302-1313 , doi : 10.1002 / hlca.194402701167 ( wiley.com ).
  7. ^ Chemistry Tree - Adolf Emil Baur Family Tree. Retrieved July 21, 2019 .
  8. ^ Emil Baur: Topics of physical chemistry . Lectures given at the instigation of the Association of German Engineers at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft mb H., Leipzig 1910, second lecture. Volta chains, S. 19–22 ( online at Internet Archive, book from University of California).
  9. ↑ Emit Baur: Comments on Taitelbaum's treatise: "Studies on fuel chains." In: Bunsen Society for physical chemistry (ed.): Journal for electrochemistry and applied physical chemistry . tape 16 , no. 9 . Wilhelm Knapp, Verlag Chemie, May 1910, ISSN  0005-9021 , p. 300-302 , doi : 10.1002 / bbpc.19100160904 .
  10. ↑ Emil Baur, H. Ehrenberg: About new fuel chains. In: Bunsen Society for physical chemistry (Hrsg.): Journal for electrochemistry and applied physical chemistry . tape 18 . Wilhelm Knapp, Verlag Chemie, 1912, ISSN  0005-9021 , p. 1002-1011 .
  11. ↑ Patent GB126766 : Improvements in Electric Cells or Batteries. Applied on March 16, 1918 , published on May 16, 1919 , inventors: Emil Baur, William Dupré Treadwell (coke electrode, iron oxide catalyst for oxygen reduction). ‌
  12. ↑ Patent DE325783 : fuel element . Registered on September 20, 2016 , published on September 17, 1920 , inventor: Emil Baur, William Dupré Treadwell ("To burn coal with an electric motor [...] the fuel electrode-forming coal (coke, hard coal, etc.)"). ‌
  13. ↑ Patent DE357290 : oxyhydrogen chain with an alkali melt as electrolyte. Registered on February 20, 1921 , published on August 21, 1922 , inventor: Emil Baur (especially caustic soda (= sodium hydroxide) as a fused electrolyte). ‌
  14. ^ Emil Baur, Hans Price: About fuel chains with fixed ladders . In: Journal of Electrochemistry and Applied Physical Chemistry . Reports of the Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry. tape 43 , no. September 9 , 1937, ISSN  0005-9021 , pp. 727-732 , doi : 10.1002 / bbpc.19370430903 .
  15. ↑ Patent GB191316898 : Improved Process for the Recovery of Gold, Silver and Platinum from Extremely Dilute Solutions, particularly Ocean Water .. Published on April 9, 1914 , inventor: Emil Baur, Oskar Nagel. ‌
  16. ↑ Patent FR489497 : procédé pour l'obtention de métaux précieux de l'eau de mer. Published on February 8, 1919 , inventors: Emil Baur, Oskar Nagel. ‌
personal data
SURNAME Baur, Emil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Baur, Adolf Emil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist, university lecturer at the ETH Zurich
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Ulm
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1944
Place of death Zurich