This article is the final installment in our four-part series on the history of chemistry. Did you miss the others? Don’t worry – you can find them all here:

As his assistant, Faraday traveled with Davy across Europe, as they carried out experiments together and met numerous influential scientists. Back in England, Faraday continued training as a chemist and in 1833 became a professor of chemistry. During this time, he investigated the basic laws of electrolysis. These formed the basis of electrochemistry and, in the second half of the century, enabled the development of an electrochemical industry which manufactured products such as chlorine, hydrogen, aluminum, magnesium, sodium, and potassium in its plants located at hydroelectric power stations.

Solvay’s soda ash

The industrial production of soda ash (sodium carbonate) had been possible since the development of the Leblanc process at the end of the 18th century. However, the synthesis required expensive raw materials and produced large amounts of the byproduct hydrogen chloride, which is toxic to the environment in which it is introduced. The produced hydrogen chloride escapes from industrial stacks and kills surrounding vegetation, and is also lethal to aquatic life when added to water.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Belgian Ernest Solvay (1838–1922) occupied himself with the issue. Solvay, who came from an industrialist family, had little formal education but was familiar with chemical procedures thanks to his work at his uncle’s and father’s factories. He developed the process for manufacturing soda ash, which was named after him and only has one byproduct – the harmless calcium chloride (CaCl₂).

In 1861, Ernest Solvay and his brother Alfred began soda ash production in their own small factory in Brussels. By continuously adjusting the process, they became increasingly successful and continued to expand. Solvay, who had become very wealthy, became active in furthering scientific research and charitable causes. He also showed his sense of social responsibility in his factories: he established an eight-hour workday, paid holiday leave, a social security system, and a pension for his employees –long before it was legally mandatory.

Visit our site to read more about the Solvay process and the associated analysis techniques:

The periodic table of elements

There had already been 64 chemical elements had discovered by 1868. However, there was as yet no clear system of regulating which particular atom combinations formed new molecules. Sorting the elements based on their atomic mass had not offered a solution up to this point.

Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907) recognized a pattern here: when elements are sorted by their atomic mass, certain elemental properties are periodically repeated – specifically, after every eight elements. Mendeleev therefore retained the arrangement in ascending order of atomic mass, but then also sorted the elements that had the same properties below one another. Whenever properties were repeated after fewer than eight elements, he left open gaps to be filled with elements that had not yet been discovered. Mendeleev arranged the transition elements, which did not fit with his «octet rule», into their own column. This resulted in the first periodic table of elements in 1869.

From aniline to aspirin

Organic chemistry, which now went far beyond the synthesis of artificial urea, had become a significant and rapidly growing industry. The tar dye companies BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst, all of which were founded in the 1860s, grew so rapidly that they were employing thousands of people even before the turn of the century. From the end of the 19th century, the tar dye industry also developed synthetic organic medicinal products. Bayer, for example, patented the byproduct-free synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid in 1898 and marketed the product under the name «Aspirin» from the beginning of the 20th century.

First World War: Artificial fertilizer and warfare agents

The use of fertilizer had been common practice throughout agriculture ever since Liebig proved that it would improve yield. The nitrogen needed by plants for growth was added to fertilizers largely in the form of guano. This consists of the weathered excrement of seabirds which forms meter-thick layers over many years, particularly on the beaches of South America, where there are low levels of precipitation. In order to meet the high demand for food – and thus for fertilizer – entire shiploads of guano were being imported to Europe.

However, the import of guano could not keep pace with the rapid growth of population indefinitely, so at the end of the 19th century, researchers began looking for a way to fix nitrogen from the air. The German chemist Fritz Haber (1868–1934) eventually found a solution in 1909 and, with his ammonia synthesis, prevented the famine prophesied in the western world. Unfortunately, this development also enabled Germany’s production of warfare agents during the First World War, as ammonia could be used to create ammonium nitrate, which was then used in ammunition.

Carl Bosch

In the Haber-Bosch process, ammonia is produced as a result of a reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen. Fritz Haber achieved synthesis at a high temperature and a high pressure level, and with the aid of a catalyst. Carl Bosch (1874–1940) developed the industrial implementation of the process. For this purpose, he developed specific equipment made of state-of-the-art materials which could withstand both high pressure and temperature levels.

In 1914, the First World War broke out. The nations involved, as well as neutral states, faced blockades in their trade routes and had to become largely self-sufficient. Thanks to governmental structuring and aid, this led to a boom in industrial research across the globe. Numerous reputable scientists were actively involved in the war or supported it, including Fritz Haber, Walther Nernst, and Emil Fischer. In addition to the Haber-Bosch process, the pressure to create innovations that prevailed before and during the war also resulted in the first synthetic rubber as well as mustard gas and the toxic gas phosgene. Chlorine gas, which is produced during ammonia synthesis, was also used as a warfare agent during World War One.

Chemistry since WWI

Following the armistice agreement in 1918, the German chemical industry – which had been world-leading until then – lost all of its patents and had to reveal numerous production secrets in order to satisfy the reparation demands of the victorious Allied Powers [3]. The German chemical industry, which had been the world’s largest at the time, had to relinquish its place at the top. Although it experienced another upswing toward the beginning of the Second World War, today’s leading lights in the chemical industry are the USA and France. During the post-war period, polymer chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry were the fields that saw particular advancement and brought about countless products which are still essentials today. Among these are polymers, including synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester, and artificially produced vitamins and hormones.

The time around the turn of the 20th century saw rapid advancement in chemistry, both in fundamental research as well as in industry – and to a great extent, it is the relationship between the two which enabled this progress. Numerous processes developed during this time period, including the Haber-Bosch and Solvay processes, have remained the methods of choice in the production of chemicals – in this case ammonia and soda ash, respectively – to this very day. 

References

[1] The Components of Life: From Nucleic Acids to Carbohydrates; 1st ed., Rogers, K., Ed.; Britannica Educational Publishing/Rosen Educational Services: New York, 2011; p 59.

[2] Erisman, J. W., Sutton, M. A., Galloway, J., Klimont, Z., and Winiwarter, W. (2008) Nat. Geosci. 1, 636–639.

[3] Kricheldorf, H. R. Menschen und ihre Materialien: Von der Steinzeit bis heute; 1st ed., Wiley-VCH Verlag & Co. KGaA: Weinheim, 2012; p 111.

Post written by Dr. Alyson Lanciki, Scientific Editor at Metrohm International Headquarters, Herisau, Switzerland. Primary research and content contribution done by Stephanie Kappes.

Chemistry and society: An explosive pair

It is the early 19th century, and industrialization in Europe is in full swing. Close collaboration between the chemical industry and research – largely in France to start with, then followed by other European countries – is resulting in rapid advances in both sectors. As the chemical industry grows, chemistry is gaining a higher profile in society. The third and fourth parts of our series on the history of chemistry consider the relationship between chemistry, industry, and society from the 19th century onward.

As well as this, he dealt extensively with the chemistry of organisms, something which he dubbed «organic chemistry». Being a proponent of vitalism, Berzelius was convinced that only living organisms were capable of producing organic substances, claiming that «vital force» was necessary for this process. The findings of one of his apprentices, Friedrich Wöhler, would later put a question mark on this hypothesis.

Metrohm offers you solutions for the determination of urea and its contaminants. To find out more, visit our industry page «Chemical» and choose «Basic chemicals»:

Wöhler and Liebig: A fruitful friendship

Wöhler formed a friendship with Justus von Liebig (1803–1873) after they settled a dispute about silver fulminate and silver cyanate in 1825. Both substances share the same molecular formula, but the silver fulminate discovered by Liebig is highly explosive, whereas Wöhler’s silver cyanate is not. They eventually ascertained that the type and number of atoms in a compound alone are not enough to characterize a substance – the arrangement of the atoms must also be considered. As well as a spirit of mutual esteem, Liebig and Wöhler thus discovered isomerism. However, determining the molecular structure was not yet possible at that time.

In 1832, the two researchers worked together to formulate their so-called radical theory, which paved the way for modern organic chemistry. This stated that organic substances are composed of atom groups, which they called radicals. These remain unchanged during chemical reactions and are merely exchanged between the reactants. Although the term «radical» now has a different meaning in chemistry, a very similar principle remains until today: functional groups.

Superphosphate revolutionizes agriculture

Around 1840, Liebig, who had studied at the Sorbonne in Paris under such great names as Gay-Lussac and experienced France’s symbiotic relationship between science and industry, turned his back on fundamental research. Instead, he began studying organic chemistry in physiology and agriculture. He realized that plants extract nutrients needed for growth from the ground – with the exception of carbon dioxide, sourced from the air. From his findings, he deduced practical implications which revolutionized agriculture. Through his work, Liebig was the first to establish the need for fertilizer from a scientific point of view. His research also allowed him to determine which nutrients need to be present in fertilizer. This included simple organic compounds, but also inorganic substances such as salts. Based on this knowledge, Liebig developed the first artificial fertilizer, superphosphate, which led to an enormous increase in agricultural yields.

You can find several free Metrohm applications for agrochemicals available for download here:

According to his own statements, both of Kekulé’s groundbreaking ideas were inspirations from dreams – but the truth behind this is disputed. Kekulé is regarded as an intellectual who disparaged the culture prevailing among chemists and industrialists at the time: a pragmatic, positivistic way of thinking was spreading – it was a blind sense of empiricism which afforded no room for imagination. Christoph Meinel – a historian of chemical sciences – doubts the truth behind the dream anecdote, first told by Kekulé during a speech at a celebration in his honor. He states: «Kekulé’s ambivalent attitude toward the mentality present during this historical period, known as the ‹Gründerzeit›, and toward the patriarchal views of Berlin society resonates only too clearly in his speech. When Kekulé finishes narrating his vision with the words ‹Let’s learn to dream, gentlemen!›, the irony is very difficult to ignore given the prominent profile of those in attendance, who represented Prussian bureaucracy, Gründerzeit industries, and the elitist universities of the time» [1].

Artificial colors: All thanks to benzene

Regardless of whether Kekulé’s anecdote was based on true events or not, his discovery of the benzene structure and its importance to chemistry cannot be denied. Knowledge of organic and aromatic structures enabled systematic synthesis of the same molecules. The work of chemists was increasingly shifting from the isolation of substances from nature to the synthesis of artificial substances. The colorant industry experienced a boom after the discovery of the benzene structure, as this meant that a multitude of artificial colors could now be produced. Indigo production, for example, became an economically significant industrial process.

You can find out which analysis technique you need to monitor colorant properties on our industry page «Chemical» under the menu item «Solvents and colorants»: 

Check out the blog next week for the final installment of the series to learn about the advancements of chemistry around World War II.

Reference

[1] Sponsel, R. and Rathsmann-Sponsel, I. Kekulés Traum. Über eine typisch-psychoanalytische Entgleisung Alexander Mitscherlichs über den bedeutenden Naturwissenschaftler und Chemiker August Kekulé (1829-1896), Mitschöpfer der Valenz-, Vollender der Strukturtheorie und Entdecker der Bedeutung des Benzolrings. Alternative Analyse und Deutung aus allgemeiner und integrativer psychologisch-psychotherapeutischer Sicht. http://www.sgipt.org/th_schul/pa/kek/pak_kek0.htm (accessed Aug 15, 2016).

Post written by Dr. Alyson Lanciki, Scientific Editor at Metrohm International Headquarters, Herisau, Switzerland. Primary research and content contribution done by Stephanie Kappes.