Richard Wolffenstein (21 August 1864 – 5 June 1926) was a German chemist. He discovered acetone peroxide in 1895 by reacting acetone with hydrogen peroxide. The Wolfenstein-Boters reaction, Wolffenstein-Böters reaction, which he discovered in 1913, was an alternative production method for explosives. (in German)

Biography

Wolffenstein studied in University of Leipzig, Leipzig, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, University of Munich, Munich and Berlin. He was awarded his doctor title in 1888, and became an assistant at the veterinary ''hochschule'' in Berlin, and later in University of Breslau, Breslau under Albert Ladenburg. In 1893, he returned to the Technical Hochschule, now called the Technical University of Berlin, where he gained his habilitation in 1895 and became professor of chemistry in 1921.

References

1864 births 1926 deaths 19th-century German chemists Scientists from Berlin Academic staff of the Technical University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Breslau 20th-century German chemists {{Germany-chemist-stub