Frédéric Swarts (2 September 1866 – 6 September 1940) was a Belgian

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

who prepared the first

chlorofluorocarbon Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F), produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, and pro ...

, CF₂Cl₂ (Freon-12) as well as several other related compounds. He was a professor in the civil engineering at the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

. In addition to his work on organofluorine chemistry, he authored the textbook "Cours de Chimie Organique."Frédéric Swarts "Cours de Chimie Organique" Librairie Scientifique, A. Hermann (Paris), 1908. He was a son of Theodore Swarts (chemist, *1839 Antwerpen; †1911 Kortenberg, Belgium) and a colleague of

Leo Baekeland Leo Hendrik Baekeland (November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944) was a Belgian chemist. He is best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper in 1893, and Bakelite in 1907. He has been called "The Father of the Plastics Industry" ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swarts, Frederic 20th-century Belgian inventors Belgian chemists 1866 births 1940 deaths Academic staff of Ghent University