Christian Friedrich Schoenbein

Bossel, U. (2000) The Birth of the Fuel Cell (1835-1845). Complete Correspondence between Christian Friedrich Schoenbein and William Robert Grove, Oberrohrdorf. 

Evidently, the idea was there but the material was lacking then to perform successfully the process of fiber spinning. But when Henri Braconnot in 1832 and Christian Friedrich Schoenbein in 1846 discovered how to make cellulose nitrate, the time for the "spark" had arrived. British Patent 283, issued in 1855, disclosed the treating of bast fibers from mulberry twigs with nitric acid, dissolving the product in a mixture of alcohol and ether together with rubber, and from this viscous mass drawing fibers with a steel needle after these fibers solidified in air, they were wound on a spool. 

The principle of the fuel cell was discovered more than 100 years ago by the frequently cited Sir William Grove but also by Christian Friedrich Schoenbein [19,20]. However, despite its large potential for highly efficient power generation, it still lacks widespread applications due mostly to the economic aspects and some remaining technical problems, such as durability issues. 

More than 175 years have passed since the discovery and first demonstrations of the fuel cell principle by Christian Friedrich Schoenbein and Sir William Grove. However, in spite of many years of research, fuel cells still are somewhat exotic and expensive power sources. The main reasons are materials cost and a lack of fundamental knowledge of fuel cell operation. 

Wikipedia (2012) Christian Friedrich Schonbein, http //en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Christian Schoenbein (last accessed 2 February 2012). 

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