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The famous German chemist, Nobel Prize winner (together with F. Bergius) “for his merits in the introduction and development of methods high pressure in chemistry."

The German chemist Carl Bosch was born on August 27, 1884 in Cologne in the family of Paula and Carl Bosch, a successful merchant who sold natural gas and sanitary equipment. Karl Bosch was the eldest son, therefore, according to family tradition, he was named Karl after his father. He had 4 younger brother and sister.

With early years he did well in natural sciences and technical disciplines and dreamed of becoming a chemist. Yielding to his father's wishes, he worked for a year in various workshops of a metallurgical plant, and from 1894 to 1896 studied metallurgy and mechanical engineering at the Technical University in Charlottenburg (now part of Berlin).

Bosch studied inorganic chemistry, spectral analysis, botany, zoology and entomology. Summer vacation He spent 1895 at the Krupp factories in Harmanshüt near Neuwied. Here he got acquainted in detail with the work and construction of blast furnaces.

To obtain deep knowledge in chemistry, Bosch continued his education at the University of Leipzig, where, under the guidance of Professor I. Wislicenus, he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic: "Study of the condensation product of acetonedicarboxylic acid diethyl ester with bromoacetophenone." Bosch proved that the product contained a 6-membered ring and a side chain, and not a 7-membered ring as previously thought. Wislicenus invited him to become an assistant. But work at the university did not attract the young scientist.

In 1899, Carl Bosch joined the "Baden Aniline and Soda Factory" ("BASF") in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, which belonged to a large chemical company specializing in the production of dyes.

Initially, under the direction of Rudolf Knich, he helped develop the process for the production of synthetic indigo on an industrial scale. Then he was instructed to check the method of W. Ostwald for the synthesis of ammonia. The experiments gave negative result, but interested Bosch. In collaboration with Dr. A. Mittash, he created a technology for the production of ammonia from barium cyanamide. Gradually, Bosch became an excellent industrial scientist.

In the factory laboratory, under the leadership of Karl Bosch, research was carried out on the production of nitrides and their decomposition to ammonia.

Great progress in the development of atmospheric nitrogen fixation technology was made in 1909, when Fritz Haber, professor of chemistry at the Technical University in Karlsruhe, synthesized ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen. This achievement opened up wide opportunities for industrial production.

In 1909, Farbika BASF acquired a patent from Haber for the synthesis process he had developed and challenged Bosch to make this process commercially viable.

Bosch improved the drawings and design of equipment capable of withstanding the high pressures and temperatures required to carry out the process proposed by Haber.

A new one was tested industrial process(Gaber - Bosch), in which atmospheric nitrogen is "bound" by the synthesis of ammonia. A mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen is passed through a heated catalyst at a pressure of about 1000 atmospheres.

The most great difficulty consisted in the design of the catalyst column in which the reaction was to take place. Bosch decided to separate the effects of temperature and pressure by designing a double-walled container that left an empty annular space between the walls.

The improved column began to work trouble-free. Immediately began the construction of an ammonia plant. Bosch became its director, who himself led the design and construction. The ammonium sulphate plant was put into operation in September 1913. After that, in the difficult conditions of the war, Bosch took over the construction of a new plant for ammonia and nitrate in Leun near Merseburg. The plant produced the first liquid ammonia on April 27, 1917.

Huge merit Carl Bosch were highly appreciated by the management of the BASF concern. He was the director of an ammonia plant, was a member of the board of directors, and later became CEO factories of the concern "I.G. Farbenindustrie".

In 1902 Bosch married Else Schilbach. From this marriage, the couple had a son and a daughter. Even being in home environment, Bosch enjoyed scientific studies such as collecting butterflies, beetles, plants and minerals. He spent many hours at his own observatory in Heidelberg, provided constant financial support Albert Einstein Astrophysical Observatory in Potsdam.

After the First World War, he lived with his wife and children Karl and Inge in his own villa in Heidelberg. Despite administrative duties, Bosch did not interrupt creative work. Under his leadership, research was carried out on the synthesis of methanol at high pressures, synthetic gasoline, etc.

In 1931 Carl Bosch and Friedrich Bergius were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry"for services to the introduction and development of high-pressure methods in chemistry." In his opening speech on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, K.V. Palmeyer summarized the methods developed by the two laureates and described some of the practical advantages of these methods. In particular, he stressed that ammonia synthesis had averted a rise in fertilizer shortages around the world by replacing dwindling stocks of Chilean sodium nitrate.

In 1935, Bosch became chairman of the board of directors of I.G. Farbenindustry, and two years later, Max Planck's successor as president of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (now the Max Planck Society) and held these two posts simultaneously.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Carl Bosch was awarded the Liebig Medal of the Sherman Chemical Society and commemorative medal Carl Lug Association of German Metallurgists. The scientist was awarded honorary degrees technical universities in Karlsruhe, Munich and Darmstadt, as well as the University of Gaul.

The German organic chemist Hermann Emil Fischer was born in Euskirchen, a small town near Cologne, to Lorenz Fischer, a successful businessman, and Julia Fischer (nee Pensgen). Before entering public school Wetzlar and the Bonn Gymnasium, he studied with a private teacher for three years. In the spring of 1869 he graduated with honors from the Bonn gymnasium.

Although Fischer hoped for academic career, he agreed to work for two years in his father's firm, but showed so little interest in the matter that in the spring of 1871 his father sent him to the University of Bonn. Here he attended lectures famous chemist Friedrich August Kekule, physicist August Kundt and mineralogist Paul Groth. Largely influenced by Kekule, who paid little attention to laboratory studies, Fischer's interest in chemistry began to wane, and he reached out to physics.

In 1872, on the advice of his cousin, the chemist Otto Fischer, he moved to the University of Strasbourg, located in Alsace-Lorraine, formerly a French province annexed by Germany after Franco-Prussian War. In Strasbourg, under the influence of one of the professors, the young organic chemist Adolf von Bayer, Fischer had a renewed interest in chemistry. Fischer soon plunged into chemical research and was noticed after the discovery of phenylhydrazine (an oily liquid used to determine dextrose), a substance that he later used to classify and synthesize sugars. After receiving doctoral degree in 1874 he took up a teaching position at the University of Strasbourg.

When Bayer received a post at the University of Munich the following year, Fischer agreed to become his assistant. Financially independent and relieved of administrative and teaching duties, Fischer was able to concentrate all his attention on laboratory research. In collaboration with his cousin Otto, he used phenylhydrazine to study substances used in the production of organic dyes derived from coal. Before Fischer's research chemical structure these substances have not been identified.

In 1878, Mr.. F. became Privatdozent University of Munich, and in 1897 as an associate professor of analytical chemistry. Three years later he left Munich and became a professor of chemistry at the University of Erlangen. There he studied compounds such as caffeine, theobromine (an alkaloid), and components of animal excrement, in particular uric acid and guanine, which he found to be derived from colorless crystalline substance which he called purine. Uric acid was discovered much earlier (in 1776) by Karl Wilhelm Scheele, and in 1820 Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge isolated caffeine. However, Fischer proved that these compounds have a similar structure and can be synthesized one from the other. Continuing to work on this topic until 1899, Fischer synthesized big number derivatives of the purine series, including purine itself (1898). Purine - important connection in organic synthesis, since it was later discovered to be necessary component cell nuclei and nucleic acids.

After taking up the post of professor of chemistry at the University of Würzburg in 1885, Fischer continued his research on purine derivatives. He was also interested in the problems of stereochemistry (spatial arrangement of atoms) of sugar molecules. Applying the principle of asymmetry of carbon atoms (published in 1874 by Jacob van't Hoff), Fischer predicted all possible transformations of atomic structures for compounds of the sugar class; by 1890 he was able to synthesize mannose, fructose and glucose in the laboratory.

In 1892 Fisher became director Institute of Chemistry Berlin University and held this post until his death. Expanding his field of study from sugars to enzymes, he discovered that enzymes only react with substances with which they are chemically related. Through research with proteins, he established the number of amino acids that make up most proteins, as well as the relationship between the various amino acids. Over time, he synthesized peptides (combinations of amino acids) and classified more than forty types of proteins based on the number and types of amino acids formed during hydrolysis ( chemical process destruction, including splitting chemical bond and the addition of elements of water).

An active supporter of basic research, Fisher campaigned for such interdisciplinary projects as the expedition to observe solar eclipse to test the theory of relativity. Focusing on the policy of the Rockefeller Foundation, which made it possible to direct the activities of American scientists exclusively to fundamental research, Fischer in 1911 received cash to establish the Institute physical chemistry and electrochemistry of Kaiser Wilhelm in Berlin. In 1914 he received the equipment to set up the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim.

In 1902, Fischer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "in recognition of his special merits connected with experiments on the synthesis of substances with saccharide and purine groups." Fischer's discovery of hydrazine derivatives turned out to be a brilliant solution to the problem of obtaining sugars and other compounds artificially. Moreover, his method for the synthesis of glycosides made a certain contribution to the development of plant physiology. Speaking of sugar research, Fischer in Nobel lecture stated that “gradually the veil by which Nature concealed her secrets was parted in matters concerning carbohydrates. Despite this, the chemical riddle of Life cannot be solved until organic chemistry has studied another, more difficult subject- squirrels.

In 1888, Fischer married Agnes Gerlach, the daughter of an anatomy professor at the University of Erlangen, they had three sons. His eldest son Herman became a professor of biochemistry University of California at Berkeley. F.'s wife died seven years after her marriage. After prolonged contact in the laboratory with phenylhydrazine, Fischer developed chronic eczema and gastrointestinal disturbances, which led to his death in 1919. Richard Wilshetter considered him "an unparalleled classic, a master of organic chemistry both in the field of analysis and in the field of synthesis, and in personal attitude the most beautiful person". In his honor the German chemical society established the Emil Fischer medal.

Among his many prizes and awards were the Davy Medal of London royal society, the Prussian Order of Merit and the Order of Maximilian for Merit in Art and Science. He was an honorary doctor of the universities of Oslo, Manchester, Brussels and Cambridge. He was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and President of the German Chemical Society. Fisher created a major scientific school. Among his students are Otto Diels, Adolf Windaus, Fritz Pregl, Otto Warburg.

Nobel Prize Laureates: Encyclopedia: Per. from English - M .: Progress, 1992.

Fischer was not only one of the reformers of organic chemistry. This science owes him new horizons - he was the first to define the methods and principles of a new direction - bioorganic chemistry - a direction that has finally taken shape only in our days.

Emil Hermann Fischer was born on October 9, 1852, in Euskirchen, near Bonn (Germany). Already in the gymnasiums of Wetzlar and Bonn, he showed outstanding abilities in the natural sciences. After long disputes with his father, Emil and his cousin and friend Otto Fischer entered the University of Bonn in 1871, where they attended lectures by A. Kekule. However, already in 1872, the brothers moved to the University of Strassburg - they were attracted not by the heights of theory, but by the brilliant laboratory of A. Bayer.

In 1875, Fischer completed his doctoral thesis on phthalein dyes discovered by Bayer, in whose laboratory Emil and Otto Fischer made their first discovery - they synthesized phenylhydrazine, which was used as a reagent for aldehydes and ketones. Bayer offered Emil an assistant position, and until 1879 the fate of the young chemist was connected with the University of Strassburg. Here, and then in Munich, where Fischer worked until 1882, he developed the problems of the chemistry of rosaniline dyes that he had begun together with his brother. It was during these years that he not only mastered the finest experimental methods but also learned to plan experiments, building them in accordance with the logic of the chosen direction.

In 1882, at the University of Erlangen, Fischer first turned to biochemical topics, starting to study the structure of purine compounds, an almost hopeless task from the standpoint of nineteenth-century chemistry. Studies of the structure of compounds of the purine group ended with the synthesis of a number of interesting physiologically active derivatives of purine - caffeine, theobromine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, guanine and adenine (1897). In 1898, Fischer obtained purine for the first time, and a year later Bayer completed the synthesis of uric acid, an oxy derivative of purine, which had not been completed.

In 1884, Fisher began research on carbohydrates. These works, carried out by him together with numerous students and collaborators, actually turned the chemistry of sugars from disparate studies into a systematic science. Carbohydrates received a nomenclature (used to this day), for them were developed rational formulas. Fisher synthesized a significant number of various mono- and disaccharides, proved the possibility of the transition of some sugars into others; created their rational classification. Applying condensation glyceraldehyde and other methods, he (together with Yu. Tafel) obtained a mixture of sugary substances, from which he isolated acroses with the help of phenylhydrazine; a-acrosis turned out to be identical to methylenenitane, a sugary substance obtained in 1861 by A.M. Butlerov. In 1890, Fischer, using the method he developed, synthesized grape and fruit sugar from glycerose and formaldehyde, and in 1893 he proposed new method synthesis of glucosides from alcohol and sugars, received a large number of glucosides.

In 1894 Fischer discovered new page in the history of chemistry and biology. He used to deal purely chemical problems properties of biocatalysts-enzymes. In doing so, he was able to show that enzymatic activity depends on the structure of the substrate; arose famous rule- an enzyme, should fit the substrate like a key to a lock. The ability of enzymes to cleave only one of the synthetic stereoisomers was used by Fischer to create a method for the separation of stereoisomers, which he successfully used in the study of protein chemistry.

Works on proteins were the pinnacle of Fischer's work. He began to study the principles of the structure of the most complex organic matter already being a world-famous scientist. In 1899, he was attracted to work on proteins by the famous German biochemist A. Kossel. In studies of amino acids, polypeptides and proteins in most found expression that feature of Fisher, which can be called "normativity". Having suggested that proteins are the products of the combination of amino acid residues, Fischer set about finding out how the latter are connected to each other. In essence, he created anew synthetic and analytical chemistry amino acids; developed numerous methods for the synthesis of D - and L-amino acids. Using the ethereal method of analysis of amino acids he created, he conducted the first studies in the history of science of the amino acid composition of proteins, discovered valine, proline, hydroxyproline. Fischer then moved on to trying to combine amino acids into polymeric derivatives. For the synthesis of such polyamino acids (called peptides and polypeptides by him), he developed a variety of methods, many of which are still used in laboratory practice. In 1902, he managed to obtain (together with E. Furno) the first pure dipept - a combination of two amino acid residues. Subsequently, he synthesized an 18-membered polypeptide, which included amino acid residues of two types. Fischer compared the synthesized peptides with peptides obtained by careful partial hydrolysis of proteins. As a result, he proved that proteins are polypeptides consisting of amino acid residues interconnected peptide bond-CO -NH -. AT last years During his lifetime, he studied tannins, showing that they are derivatives of digallic acid. Fisher's laboratory was a wonderful international school. Among his students, some were awarded Nobel Prizes - O. Diels, A. Windaus, F. Pragl, O. Warburg, not counting "the students of his students", Nobel laureates the second generation - A. Butenandt, K. Alder, G. Krebs, G. Theorel. In addition to the Nobel Prize in 1902, he was awarded many awards, many honored him by being elected as a member. learned societies and academies. In 1899 he was elected a foreign corresponding member. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Even during Fischer's lifetime, in 1912, the German Chemical Society, of which he was president for a number of years, established the Emil Fischer medal, which is awarded every 2 years to chemists for outstanding achievements in the field of organic chemistry. First World War interrupted scientific activity Fisher. After 1914, his work lost the brilliance and breadth for which it was famous in his multinational laboratory. The war was also tragic for Fischer himself - two of his sons died at the front. Although after the war he resumed Scientific research, but he developed cancer and severe state of mind led to a tragic end - July 15, 1919 Emil Fischer passed away; his grave is located in the West Berlin district - Wannsee.