Rudolf Hoppe (chemist)

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Rudolf Hoppe around 1990

Rudolf Hoppe (born October 29, 1922 in Wittenberge in Brandenburg ; † November 24, 2014 in Gießen ) was a German chemist who became known for his studies on inorganic fluorides and oxides .

education and study

Hoppe studied chemistry at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel and received his doctorate in 1954 under Wilhelm Klemm at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster . The habilitation also took place in Münster. In 1958 he received the instructor for the subject Inorganic Chemistry . In 1965 Hoppe accepted the chair at the Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen , which he held until his retirement in 1991.

Scientific work

Time in Münster

Hoppe became known for the preparation of the first stable noble gas compound XeF 2 ( xenon difluoride ) in 1962. Until then it was generally assumed that connections of this kind could not exist. The reasons for this were some previously failed experiments to represent noble gas compounds and the concept of the “closed electron octet ”, according to which noble gases should not form compounds.

From the properties of the interhalogen compounds of fluorine, it was already clear that only noble gas fluorides were accessible at all. A working group in Münster had discussed the possibilities and properties of xenon fluorides in detail since 1949/50. Since 1951, the working group was certain that XeF 4 and XeF 2 had to be thermodynamically stable against decomposition into the elements.

For a long time it was planned in Munster to occasionally carry out experiments on the preparation of xenon fluorides. However, there were technical and conceptual difficulties here. On the one hand, xenon was not available in sufficient purity, on the other hand, only a pressure synthesis, which required steel bottles with compressed F 2 , was considered to be promising. These F 2 pressure bottles had been promised by a friendly American side since 1961. Until 1963, however, it could not be sent because the valves on American pressure bottles were not approved in Germany and vice versa.

Nevertheless, in 1962 Hoppe succeeded in producing xenon difluoride , XeF 2 , in his working group , in the form of transparent crystals. He let electrical spark discharges act on xenon-fluorine mixtures. A first such attempt was made in the USA by Neil Bartlett on August 2nd. Xenon tetrafluoride , XeF 4 , was obtained there in the following days .

Time in casting

In Gießen, Hoppe continued his extensive research in the field of solid-state chemistry with a focus on the synthesis and characterization of oxo and fluorometalates of the alkali metals. During his research he published over 650 articles in international and national journals. He also worked for many years as a scientific editor at the Journal of Inorganic and General Chemistry .

Teaching

As a university lecturer, he imparted the basics of his subject and knowledge in certain subject areas to numerous young people. In addition, a total of 114 doctoral students were awarded their doctorates under Hoppe as a doctoral supervisor.

Further activities

Hoppe was known as an animal lover and a supporter of zoological gardens.

Honors

Hoppe was also a member of several scientific societies and academies such as the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (since 1969) as well as the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences .

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literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Life data, publications and academic family tree of Rudolf Hoppe at academictree.org, accessed on February 12, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Hoppe, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Wittenberg
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 2014
Place of death to water