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Karl Ziegler

 

(born Nov. 26, 1898, Helsa, near Kassel, Ger. — died Aug. 12, 1973, Mülheim, W.Ger.) German chemist. He held academic appointments at the Universities of Frankfurt am Main, Heidelberg, and Halle, and in 1943 he became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm (later Max Planck) Institute. He was the first to explain the reactions involved in the synthesis of rubber (c. 1928). His most important work, in the 1950s, led to the discovery that certain catalysts permitted the fast polymerization of ethylene at atmospheric pressure to a linear polymer of high molecular weight having valuable plastic properties. His work formed the basis of nearly all later developments in the production of long-chain polymers of hydrocarbons from such olefins as ethylene and butadiene; the resulting products came into widespread use as plastics, fibres, rubbers, and films. He shared a 1963 Nobel Prize with Giulio Natta (1903 – 79).

For more information on Karl Ziegler, visit Britannica.com.

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Scientist: Karl Ziegler
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German chemist (1898–1973)

Ziegler was born at Helsa in Germany, the son of a minister. He received his doctorate from the University of Marburg in 1923 and then taught at Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Halle before becoming director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in 1943. In 1963 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry with Giulio Natta for their discovery of Ziegler–Natta catalysts.

One of the earliest plastics, polyethylene, was simply made by polymerization of the ethylene molecule into long chains containing over a thousand ethylene units. In practice, however, the integrity of the chain tended to be ruined by the development of branches weakening the plastic and endowing it with a melting point only slightly above the boiling point of water.

In 1953 Ziegler introduced a family of catalysts that prevented such branching and produced a much stronger plastic, one which could be soaked in hot water without softening. The catalysts are mixtures of organometallic compounds containing such metallic ions as titanium and aluminum. The new process had the additional advantage that it requires much lower temperatures and pressures than the old method.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Karl Ziegler
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Ziegler, Karl (tsē'glər), 1898-1973, German chemist. Educated at the Univ. of Marburg, he taught at Heidelberg and Halle and for a short period at the Univ. of Chicago. He became director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research at Mülheim an der Ruhr in 1944. He shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Giulio Natta for developing a system to control polymerizing, or uniting, of simple hydrocarbons into large molecule substances. This had important commercial use in the development of plastics, particularly the polymerization of propene (see polypropylene).
Wikipedia: Karl Ziegler
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Karl Waldemar Ziegler
Born November 26, 1898
Helsa near Kassel, Germany
Died August 12, 1973 (aged 74)
Mülheim, Germany
Nationality Germany
Fields Organic chemistry
Institutions Aachen University of Technology
Max Planck Institute für Kohlenforschung
Alma mater University of Marburg
Doctoral advisor Karl von Auwers
Known for Ziegler-Natta catalyst
Notable awards Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1963)

Karl Waldemar Ziegler (November 26, 1898 – August 12, 1973) was a German chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963, with Giulio Natta, for work on polymers. In 1960, Ziegler received the Werner von Siemens Ring, jointly with Otto Bayer and Walter Reppe, for expanding the scientific knowledge of and the technical development of new synthetic materials.

Karl Ziegler was born in Helsa near Kassel, Germany and was educated at the University of Marburg. In 1943, Ziegler became Honorary Professor at the Aachen University of Technology and Director of the Max Planck Institute für Kohlenforschung.

During his 26 years at the Max Planck Institute für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim/Ruhr, from 1943 until 1969, Ziegler did most of his work on the Ziegler-Natta catalyst.

Ziegler died in Mülheim, Germany in 1973.

See also

References

  • Eisch, John J. (1983). "Karl Ziegler: Master Advocate for the Unity of Pure and Applied Research". Journal of Chemical Education 60 (12): 1009–1014. 
  • Oesper, Ralph (1948). "Karl Ziegler". Journal of Chemical Education 25 (9): 510–511. 
  • Wilke, Günther (1975). "Nachruf auf Karl Ziegler". Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 1975 (4): 804–833. doi:10.1002/jlac.197519750419. 

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