Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe was a major contributor to the birth of modern organic chemistry. He was a professor at Marburg and Leipzig. Kolbe was the first to apply the term synthesis in a chemical context, and contributed to the philosophical demise of vitalism through synthesis of the organic substance acetic acid from carbon disulfide, and also contributed to the development of structural theory. This was done via modifications to the idea of "radicals" and accurate prediction of the existence of secondary and tertiary alcohols, and to the emerging array of organic reactions through his Kolbe electrolysis of carboxylate salts, the Kolbe-Schmitt reaction in the preparation of aspirin and the Kolbe nitrile synthesis. After studies with Wöhler and Bunsen, Kolbe was involved with the early internationalization of chemistry through work in London. He was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and won the Royal Society of London's Davy Medal in the year of his death. Despite these accomplishments and his training important members of the next generation of chemists, Kolbe is best remembered for editing the Journal für Praktische Chemie for more than a decade, in which his vituperative essays on Kekulé's structure of benzene, van't Hoff's theory on the origin of chirality and Baeyer's reforms of nomenclature were personally critical and linguistically violent. Kolbe died of a heart attack in Leipzig at age 66, six years after the death of his wife, Charlotte. He was survived by four children.
In organic chemistry, an aldehyde is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure R−CH=O. The functional group itself can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl group. Aldehydes are a common motif in many chemicals important in technology and biology.
Resorcinol (or resorcin) is a phenolic compound. It is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(OH)2. It is one of three isomeric benzenediols, the 1,3-isomer (or meta-isomer). Resorcinol crystallizes from benzene as colorless needles that are readily soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, but insoluble in chloroform and carbon disulfide.
Acetyl chloride is an acyl chloride derived from acetic acid. It belongs to the class of organic compounds called acid halides. It is a colorless, corrosive, volatile liquid. Its formula is commonly abbreviated to AcCl.
Iron(II) acetate is a coordination complex with formula Fe(CH3COO)2. It is a white solid, although impure samples can be slightly colored. A light green tetrahydrate is also known, which is highly soluble in water.
Lead(IV) acetate or lead tetraacetate is an metalorganic compound with chemical formula Pb(C2H3O2)4. It is a colorless solid that is soluble in nonpolar, organic solvents, indicating that it is not a salt. It is degraded by moisture and is typically stored with additional acetic acid. The compound is used in organic synthesis.
Rhodium(II) acetate is the coordination compound with the formula Rh2(AcO)4, where AcO− is the acetate ion (CH
3CO−
2). This dark green powder is slightly soluble in polar solvents, including water. It is used as a catalyst for cyclopropanation of alkenes. It is a widely studied example of a transition metal carboxylate complex.
Acetic acid, systematically named ethanoic acid, is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula CH3COOH. Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component of vinegar apart from water. It has been used, as a component of vinegar, throughout history from at least the third century BC.
Sodium bismuthate is an inorganic compound, and a strong oxidiser with chemical formula NaBiO3. It is somewhat hygroscopic, but not soluble in cold water, which can be convenient since the reagent can be easily removed after the reaction. It is one of the few water insoluble sodium salts. Commercial samples may be a mixture of bismuth(V) oxide, sodium carbonate and sodium peroxide.
Titanium nitrate is the inorganic compound with formula Ti(NO3)4. It is a colorless, diamagnetic solid that sublimes readily. It is an unusual example of a volatile binary transition metal nitrate. Ill defined species called titanium nitrate are produced upon dissolution of titanium or its oxides in nitric acid.
Aluminium triacetate, formally named aluminium acetate, is a chemical compound with composition Al(CH
3CO
2)
3. Under standard conditions it appears as a white, water-soluble solid that decomposes on heating at around 200 °C. The triacetate hydrolyses to a mixture of basic hydroxide / acetate salts, and multiple species co-exist in chemical equilibrium, particularly in aqueous solutions of the acetate ion; the name aluminium acetate is commonly used for this mixed system.
Cobalt(III) chloride or cobaltic chloride is an unstable and elusive compound of cobalt and chlorine with formula CoCl
3. In this compound, the cobalt atoms have a formal charge of +3.
Chromium(III) acetate, commonly known as basic chromium acetate, describes a family of salts where the cation has the formula [Cr3O(O2CCH3)6(OH2)3]+. The trichromium cation is encountered with a variety of anions, such as chloride and nitrate. Data in the table above are for the chloride hexahydrate, [Cr3O(O2CCH3)6(OH2)3]Cl(H2O)6.
Ruthenium(III) acetate, commonly known as basic ruthenium acetate, describes a family of salts where the cation has the formula [Ru3O(O2CCH3)6(OH2)3]+. A representative derivative is the dihydrate of the tetrafluoroborate salt [Ru3O(O2CCH3)6(OH2)3]BF4(H2O)2, which is the source of the data in the table above. This and related salts are forest green, air-stable solids that are soluble in alcohols.
Potassium octacyanomolybdate(IV) is the inorganic salt with the formula K4[Mo(CN)8]. A yellow light-sensitive solid, it is the potassium salt of the cyanometalate with the coordination number eight. The complex anion consists of a Mo(IV) center bound to eight cyanide ligands resulting in an overall charge of −4, which is balanced with four potassium cations. The salt is often prepared as its dihydrate K4[Mo(CN)8].(H2O)2.
Transition metal carboxylate complexes are coordination complexes with carboxylate (RCO2−) ligands. Reflecting the diversity of carboxylic acids, the inventory of metal carboxylates is large. Many are useful commercially, and many have attracted intense scholarly scrutiny. Carboxylates exhibit a variety of coordination modes, most common are κ1- (O-monodentate), κ2 (O,O-bidentate), and bridging.
Tin(IV) nitrate is a salt of tin with nitric acid. It is a volatile white solid, subliming at 40 °C under a vacuum. Unlike other nitrates, it reacts with water to produce nitrogen dioxide.
Hexafluorotitanic acid (systematically named oxonium hexafluoridotitanate(2-)) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula (H3O)(H5O2)[TiF6]. According to X-ray crystallography, the salt consists of [TiF6]2- octahedral and two kinds of oxonium cations, (H3O)+ and (H5O2)+.
Zirconium acetate usually refers to the chemical formula Zr6O4(OH)4(O2CCH3)12. It forms by the reaction of zirconyl chloride and acetate. Claims of Zr(O2CCH3)4 have been superseded by experiments using X-ray crystallography.
Tin(IV) acetate is the acetate salt of tin(IV), with the chemical formula of Sn(CH3COO)4.
