Rudolf Christian Böttger (28 April 1806 – 29 April 1881) was a German inorganic chemist. He conducted most of his research at the

University of Frankfurt am Main Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

. He is credited with discovery of

nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

in 1846, independently to Schönbein, and with the synthesis of the first organocopper compound

copper(I) acetylide Copper(I) acetylide, or cuprous acetylide, is a chemical compound with the formula Cu2 C2. Although never characterized by X-ray crystallography, the material has been claimed at least since 1856. One form is claimed to be a monohydrate with for ...

Cu₂C₂ in 1859.

Life and work

Böttger was born in

Aschersleben Aschersleben () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle (Saale). Geography Aschersleben lies near the confluence of ...

, Germany in 1806. After attending the primary school there he joined the school of the Franksche Stiftung in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

at the age of eleven. In 1824, Böttger started to study theology, but in parallel also attended the science lectures at the University Halle. The lectures of Johann Salomo Christoph Schweigger had a strong influence on him. Böttger left the university in 1828 and worked as cleric and teacher at different locations. The contact with Schweigger never faded and in 1831 Böttger decided to leave the theology career. He was offered a job at the voluntary association for chemistry in Frankfurt in 1835. His first major work in Frankfurt was the improvement of the electrotyping method for the production of printing plates, he created the first practical

nickel electroplating Nickel electroplating is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of nickel onto a metal object. The nickel layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, wear resistance, or used to build up worn or undersized parts for salvage purposes ...

solution (1840). Böttger received his PhD from the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

in 1837 and was appointed as full professor in Frankfurt in 1842. Böttger married Christiane Harpke in 1841, and they had eight children. He and Christian Friedrich Schönbein, a German-Swiss chemist, discovered nitrocellulose independently in 1846. Both scientists collaborated to earn money with the invention, but they were not successful. The development of the

safety match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

in 1848 and the synthesis of the first organocopper compound, the explosive

Cu₂C₂ in 1859 were examples for his chemistry research. Böttger stayed at the

for the rest of his life, although he was offered positions at other universities. He died of a liver illness in 1881.

References

Sources

External links

Rudolf von Böttger
at ''

Deutsche Biographie ''Deutsche Biographie'' ( en, German Biography) is a German-language online biographical dictionary A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information. Many attempt to cover the major personali ...

'' (ADB & NDB) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bottger, Rudolf Christian 1806 births 1881 deaths 19th-century German chemists Inorganic chemists Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery People from Aschersleben Goethe University Frankfurt faculty