Richard Wolffenstein (chemist)

Richard Wolffenstein (born August 21, 1864 in Berlin ; † June 5, 1929 there ) was a German chemist who worked at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Life

Wolffenstein studied in Leipzig, Heidelberg, Munich and Berlin. In 1888 he received his doctorate and took up an assistant position at the veterinary college in Berlin , later in Breslau under Albert Ladenburg . In 1893 he returned to Berlin, more precisely to the Technical University of Charlottenburg (now the Technical University of Berlin ). In 1895 he completed his habilitation and from 1921 he taught as a professor for chemistry and technology of medicinal substances.

Services

Wolffenstein's main focus was on researching alkaloids . Together with Adolf Pinner , he determined the structural formula of the alkaloid nicotine . Wolffenstein discovered the explosive acetone peroxide (APEX) or triacetone triperoxide (TATP) by chance at the Technical University of Berlin. The synthesis process he developed together with Oskar Böters and patented in 1906 for the production of dinitrophenol and trinitrophenol ( picric acid ) is called the Wolffenstein-Böters reaction .

He dealt with the production of pure hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) by distillation under reduced pressure (1894).

With Leonhard Mamlock he described the Cope elimination for the first time .

Fonts

The plant alkaloids, Richard Wolffenstein, 3rd edition Berlin 1922

literature

H. Scheibler: Richard Wolffenstein. In: Journal for Applied Chemistry. 42, 1929, pp. 1149-1151, doi : 10.1002 / anie.19290425102 .

Web links

Literature by and about Richard Wolffenstein in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

^ A. Pinner, R. Wolffenstein: About nicotine. In: Reports of the German Chemical Society. 24, 1891, pp. 61-67, doi : 10.1002 / cber.18910240108 .
^ A. Pinner, R. Wolffenstein: About nicotine. In: Reports of the German Chemical Society. 24, 1891, pp. 1373-1377, doi : 10.1002 / cber.189102401242 .
^ A. Pinner, R. Wolffenstein: About nicotine. In: Reports of the German Chemical Society. 25, 1892, pp. 1428-1433, doi : 10.1002 / cber.189202501214 .

personal data
SURNAME	Wolffenstein, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German chemist
DATE OF BIRTH	August 21, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH	Berlin
DATE OF DEATH	June 5, 1929
Place of death	Berlin

[1] A. Pinner, R. Wolffenstein: About nicotine. In: Reports of the German Chemical Society. 24, 1891, pp. 61-67, doi : 10.1002 / cber.18910240108 .

[2] A. Pinner, R. Wolffenstein: About nicotine. In: Reports of the German Chemical Society. 24, 1891, pp. 1373-1377, doi : 10.1002 / cber.189102401242 .

[3] A. Pinner, R. Wolffenstein: About nicotine. In: Reports of the German Chemical Society. 25, 1892, pp. 1428-1433, doi : 10.1002 / cber.189202501214 .