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 Frankfurt () is a public research 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 wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

. 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 Schönbein is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Christian Friedrich Schönbein (1799–1868), German-Swiss chemist *Irene Schönbein, wife of Josef Mengele Josef Mengele (; 16 March 19117 February 1979) was a Nazi G ...

, and with the synthesis of the first organocopper compound

copper(I) acetylide Copper(I) acetylide, copper carbide or cuprous acetylide, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a copper(I) salt of acetylene. It consists of cations and acetylide anions , with the triple bond between the two carbon atoms. Although nev ...

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 the ...

Principality of Halberstadt The Principality of Halberstadt () was a state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Brandenburg-Prussia. It replaced the Bishopric of Halberstadt after its secularization in 1648. Its capital was Halberstadt. In 1807, the principality was made a ...

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 (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...

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 Electrotyping (also galvanoplasty) is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. The method was invented by a Prussian engineer Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in ...

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 (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

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 Christian Friedrich Schönbein HFRSE (18 October 1799 – 29 August 1868) was a German-Swiss chemist who is best known for inventing the fuel cell (1838) at the same time as William Robert Grove and his discoveries of guncotton and ozone. He a ...

, 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 () is a German-language online biographical dictionary. It published thus far information about more than 730,000 individuals and families (2016).Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften''Jahresbericht 2016'' p 7 ...

'' (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 Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt