Charles Adolphe Wurtz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adolphe Wurtz
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| Born | 26 November 1817 Wolfisheim, near Strasbourg, France
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| Died | 10 May 1884 (aged 66) Paris, France
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| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | University of Strasbourg |
| Known for | Wurtz reaction |
| Awards | Faraday Lectureship Prize (1879) Copley Medal (1881) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Doctoral advisor | Amédée Cailliot |
| Other academic advisors | Justus von Liebig |
| Doctoral students | Charles Friedel Armand Gautier |
| Other notable students | Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Alexander Zaytsev |
Charles Adolphe Wurtz (born November 26, 1817 – died May 10, 1884) was a famous French chemist. He is best known for strongly supporting the idea that all matter is made of tiny particles called atoms. He also believed in understanding how chemical compounds are built, even when other scientists disagreed. Wurtz discovered important chemicals like ethylamine and ethylene glycol. He also developed the Wurtz reaction, a way to create new chemical bonds, and the aldol reaction. Besides his discoveries, Wurtz was a great teacher and writer, helping to shape chemistry education in France.
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Adolphe Wurtz's Early Life and Education
Adolphe Wurtz was born in Strasbourg, France. His father, Johann Jacob Wurtz, was a pastor in a nearby town. Adolphe never used his first name, Charles.
In 1834, after finishing school, his father allowed him to study medicine. Adolphe quickly became very interested in the chemical side of medicine. By 1839, he was in charge of chemical work at the Strasbourg medical school.
He continued his studies in 1842 with a famous chemist named Justus von Liebig in Germany. After earning his medical degree in 1843, he moved to Paris. There, he worked with other important chemists like Jean Baptiste Dumas.
Becoming a Chemistry Professor
In 1845, Adolphe Wurtz became an assistant to Professor Dumas at the École de Médecine. Four years later, he began teaching organic chemistry there himself.
Since he didn't have his own lab at the school, he opened a private one in 1850. However, he had to close it a few years later. In 1850, he also became a chemistry professor at a new agricultural institute in Versailles. This institute was closed in 1852.
In 1853, Wurtz was appointed to a new position at the medical school. He became the professor of "organic and mineral chemistry." Later, in 1866, he became the dean of the medical faculty. He worked hard to improve the science buildings and labs, believing France needed better facilities like Germany had.
In 1875, he became the first professor of a new organic chemistry department at the Sorbonne. This new position was created because of his influence. However, he still struggled to get a proper laboratory. Modern labs at the Sorbonne were not finished until ten years after his death.
Wurtz's Important Contributions to Chemistry
Adolphe Wurtz was a strong supporter of new ideas in chemistry. He believed in the idea of chemical atoms and how they connect to form molecules. This was a big change from older theories. He also supported the new idea of structural theory, which explains how atoms are arranged in molecules.
His first published work was about hypophosphorous acid in 1841. He also discovered sulfophosphoric acid and phosphorus oxychloride.
Wurtz made many important discoveries in organic chemistry:
- In 1848, he studied cyanic ethers. This led him to discover methylamine in 1849, which is a simple organic version of ammonia.
- In 1851, he discovered urea compounds.
- In 1855, he studied glycerin and realized it was like an alcohol. This led him to discover the glycols in 1856. Glycols are a type of alcohol with two hydroxyl groups.
- He also worked on ethylene oxide and polyethylene alcohols.
- His work on glycols led to the discovery of chemicals similar to lactic acid.
- In 1855, he published his work on the Wurtz reaction. This reaction helps chemists create new carbon-carbon bonds.
- In 1867, Wurtz created neurine in his lab.
- In 1872, he discovered the aldol reaction. This reaction creates a product that has properties of both an alcohol and an aldehyde. Another chemist, Alexander Borodin, discovered it independently at the same time.
Wurtz also studied how some gases behave differently at high temperatures. He showed that some substances, like sal-ammoniac, break apart into simpler molecules when heated. This helped explain why their vapor density seemed unusual.
Wurtz as a Writer and Leader
For many years, Wurtz published summaries of chemical research from outside France in a scientific journal. He also started writing a huge dictionary of pure and applied chemistry, called Dictionnaire de chimie pure et appliquée, in 1869. Many other French chemists helped him with this project.
He wrote several books, including Chimie médicale (Medical Chemistry) and La Théorie atomique (The Atomic Theory). His book Histoire des doctrines chimiques (History of Chemical Doctrines) started with a famous sentence: "Chemistry is a French science." While this caused some debate, he meant that modern chemistry began with the great French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier.
Wurtz was a very respected scientist across Europe. He helped start the Paris Chemical Society in 1858 and was its first secretary. He was also a member of the French Academy of Sciences and became a life senator in 1881. His name is even one of the 72 names carved on the Eiffel Tower.
Adolphe Wurtz passed away in Paris on May 10, 1884. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.
See also
In Spanish: Charles Adolphe Wurtz para niños
- Aldol reaction
- Wurtzite
