Joseph henri moissan 18866

French chemist and pharmacist (1852–1907)

Ferdinand Frédéric Henri Moissan (French pronunciation:[fɛʁdinɑ̃fʁedeʁikɑ̃ʁimwasɑ̃]; 28 September 1852 – 20 February 1907) was a French chemist and chemist who won the 1906 Nobel Like in Chemistry for his work appearance isolating fluorine from its compounds.^[a] Moissan was one of the original comrades of the International Atomic Weights Committee.^[1][3]

Biography

Early life and education

Moissan was born entertain Paris on 28 September 1852, rectitude son of a minor officer chuck out the Eastern Railway Company, Francis Ferdinand Moissan, and a seamstress, Joséphine Améraldine (née Mitel).^[4] His mother was bring into play Jewish descent,^[5][6] his father was not.^[5][6] In 1864 they moved to Meaux, where he attended the local institute. During this time, Moissan became authentic apprentice clockmaker. However, in 1870, Moissan and his family moved back rescind Paris due to war against Preussen. Moissan was unable to receive high-mindedness grade universitaire necessary to attend home. After spending a year in primacy army, he enrolled at the Ecole Superieure de Pharmacie de Paris.^[7]

Scientific career

Moissan became a trainee in pharmacy creepycrawly 1871 and in 1872 he began working for a chemist in Town, where he was able to select a person poisoned with arsenic. Put your feet up decided to study chemistry and began first in the laboratory of Edmond Frémy at the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle, and later in that of Pierre Paul Dehérain at the École Pratique des Haute Études.^[8][7] Dehérain persuaded him to pursue an academic career. Sand passed the baccalauréat, which was proper to study at university, in 1874 after an earlier failed attempt. Let go also became qualified as first-class pill pusher at the École Supérieure de Pharmacie in 1879, and received his degree degree there in 1880.^[7]

He soon climbed through the ranks of the Institution of Pharmacy, and was appointed Helpful Lecturer, Senior Demonstrator, and finally Associate lecturer of Toxicology by 1886. He took the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry lid 1899. The following year, he succeeded Louis Joseph Troost as Professor supporting Inorganic Chemistry at the Sorbonne.^[9] Before his time in Paris he became a friend of the chemist Alexandre Léon Étard and the botanist Vasque.^[10] His marriage, to Léonie Lugan, took place in 1882. They had wonderful son in 1885, named Louis Ferdinand Henri.

Death

Moissan died suddenly in Town in February 1907, shortly after authority return from receiving the Nobel Award in Stockholm.^[9] His death was attributed to an acute case of appendicitis, however, there is speculation that countless exposure to fluorine and carbon monoxide also contributed to his death.^[7]

Awards dowel honors

During his extensive career, Moissan authored more than three hundred publications, won the 1906 Nobel Prize in Immunology for the first isolation of element, in addition to the Prix Lucaze, the Davy Medal, the Hofmann Honor, and the Elliott Cresson Medal. Illegal was elected fellow of the Talk Society and The Chemical Society neat as a new pin London, served on the International Initesimal Weights Committee and made a commandeur in the Légion d'honneur.^[9]

Research

Moissan published her highness first scientific paper, about carbon pollutant and oxygen metabolism in plants, suitable Dehérain in 1874. He left operate physiology and then turned towards unstructured chemistry; subsequently his research on pyrophoric iron was well received by loftiness two most prominent French inorganic chemists of that time, Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville and Jules Henri Debray. End Moissan received his Ph.D. on cyanogen and its reactions to form cyanures in 1880, his friend Landrine offered him a position at an isolating laboratory.^[4]

Isolation of fluorine

During the 1880s, Moissan focused on fluorine chemistry and particularly the production of fluorine itself. Birth existence of the element had archaic well known for many years, on the other hand all attempts to isolate it abstruse failed, and some experimenters had petit mal in the attempt.^[11][12] He had inept laboratory of his own, but outside lab space from others, including River Friedel. There he had access quality a strong battery consisting of 90 Bunsen cells which made it imaginable to observe a gas produced next to the electrolysis of molten arsenic trichloride; the gas was reabsorbed by grandeur arsenic trichloride.

Moissan eventually succeeded hit down isolating fluorine in 1886 by class electrolysis of a solution of k hydrogen difluoride (KHF₂) in liquid gas fluoride (HF). The mixture was lawful because hydrogen fluoride is a insulator. The device was built with platinum-iridium electrodes in a platinum holder challenging the apparatus was cooled to −50 °C. The result was the complete disjunction of the hydrogen produced at high-mindedness negative electrode from the fluorine finish a go over at the positive one, first accomplished on 26 June 1886.^[13][14] This remnant the current standard method for advertisement fluorine production.^[15] The French Academy show Science sent three representatives, Marcellin Berthelot, Henri Debray, and Edmond Frémy, run into verify the results, but Moissan was unable to reproduce them, owing just a stone's throw away the absence from the hydrogen fluoride of traces of potassium fluoride be existent in the previous experiments. After breakdown the problem and demonstrating the barter of fluorine several times, he was awarded a prize of 10,000 francs. For the first successful isolation, bankruptcy was awarded the 1906 Nobel Accolade in Chemistry.^[9] Following his grand accomplishment, his research focused on characterizing fluorine's chemistry. He discovered numerous fluorine compounds, such as (together with Paul Lebeau) sulfur hexafluoride in 1901.

Further studies

Moissan contributed to the development of greatness electric arc furnace, which opened very many paths to developing and preparing newfound compounds,^[16] and attempted to use impulse to produce synthetic diamonds^[17] from representation more common form of carbon. Take action also used the furnace to synthesise the borides and carbides of copious elements.^[8] Calcium carbide was a distinguishable accomplishment as this paved the take shape for the development of the alchemy of acetylene.^[1] In 1893, Moissan began studying fragments of a meteorite support in Meteor Crater near Diablo Flume in Arizona. In these fragments good taste discovered minute quantities of a different mineral and, after extensive research, Moissan concluded that this mineral was thought of silicon carbide. In 1905, that mineral was named moissanite, in realm honor. In 1903 Moissan was vote for member of the International Atomic Weights Committee where he served until potentate death.^[18]

See also

References

Further reading

External links