Schonbein, Christian Friedrich

Schonbein, Christian Friedrich (1799-1868) Swiss chemist in Basel best known for discovery of ozone. 

Figure 60. Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799-1868). (Courtesy E. Berl.) Discovered guncotton, 1846. Discovered ozone, worked on hydrogen peroxide, auto-oxidation, the passivity of iron, hydrosulfites, catalysts, and prussic acid. Professor of Chemistry at Basel from 1829 until the time of his death. He published more than 300 papers on chemical subjects. Reproduced from original in Kekule s portrait album.

Swiss-German chemist Christian Friedrich Schonbein discovers that hydrogen and oxygen gases can be combined in a way to produce water and electricity. 

The principle of the fuel cell was discovered by Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799-1868)... 

The fuel cell concept has been known for more than 150 years. It was Christian Friedrich Schonbein who recognized and described the appearance of inverse electrolysis [4] shortly before Sir William Grove, the inventor of the platinum/ zinc battery, constructed his first gas voltaic battery [5]. Grove used platinum electrodes and dilute sulfuric acid as a proton conducting electrolyte. Sulfuric acid is still used today for the impregnation of porous separators serving as the electrolyte in direct methanol laboratory fuel cells [6], but the most commonly used fuel cell electrolytes today are hydrated acidic ionomers. As opposed to aqueous sulfuric acid, where the dissociated protons and the diverse sulfate anions (conjugated... 

Cellulose nitrate was first discovered in 1845 by the Swiss-German chemist Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799-1868). The story is told that Schonbein used his wife s cotton apron to clean up some nitric acid that he had spilled on his laboratory floor. He was amazed to discover that the cotton and nitric acid reacted to form a new compound that exploded when heated, releasing a puff of black smoke. He immediately recognized the potential application for the new... 

Swiss-German chemist Christian Friedrich Schonbein discovers cellulose nitrate. 

Christian Friedrich Schonbein (Metzingen, Wiirtemberg, 18 October 1799-nr. Baden-Baden, 29 August was at first a pupil in chemical and pharma-... 

XII. Justus von Liebig und Christian Friedrich Schonbein Briefwechsel 1853-1868, ed. Kahlbaum and Thon, Kahlbaum s Monographien, 1900, v. 

In 1839, the English lawyer, judge, and physical scientist WiUiam R. Grove (1811-1896) [3, 4] described the operation of the fuel cell. His invention is closely related to the work of the German chemist Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799-1868) [5], who described the principle of fuel cells for the first time and who was in contact with Grove. Because of their close interaction, both scientists should be recognized as the discoverers of the fiiU cell. 

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

Fuel cell (Christian Friedrich Schonbein) Schonbein s fuel cell might use hydrogen and oxygen and allow them to react, producing water and electricity. There are no moving parts, but the reactants must be continuously supplied. 

Up to 1995, the year in which he became Professor emeritus, and even thereafter he was active in different fields of solid state electrochemistry (solid electrolytes, sensors, SOFC). His pioneering work encompasses contributions to solid oxide fuel cells, theoretical considerations regarding electrochemical phenomena in solid electrolyte cells, basic discoveries in solid electrolyte gas cells, and their applications as gas sensors in different branches of industry. Without any doubt, the discovery of the fuel-oxygen titration curve by means of solid electrolyte cells on which the lambda probe is based is his most memorable contribution to electrochemistry. At the Second European Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Forum, which took place in Oslo on May 1996, Prof. Dr. Hans-Heinrich Mobius was awarded the Christian Friedrich Schonbein Medal of Honor in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the fundamentals and the technology of solid electrolyte fuel cells [1]. 

In a fuel cell, electric energy is generated due to continually feeding electrochemi-cally active chemical, a fuel and an oxidizer. The technology was invented by Christian Friedrich Schonbein in 1838 and developed by William Robert Grove in 1839. Apparently, the first operating fuel cell was the so-called alkaline fuel cell (AFC). Schematic of the AFC is shown in Figure 8.1. 

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