Emil Erlenmeyer was a German chemist. He is best known for his great contributions to formulating the Erlenmeyer rule and for designing the Erlenmeyer flask. An Erlenmeyer flask is one of the most well-known types of laboratory glassware. It has gained popularity among chemists due to its efficient use. Here is a look at the achievements of the creator of the Erlenmeyer flask.
Early Life
Richard August Carl Emil Erlenmeyer was born on June 28, 1825. He initially wanted to study medicine at the University of Giessen. At Giessen, he attended lectures in chemistry by Justus von Liebig, a renowned chemist. These lectures captivated him so much that he switched to chemistry. He finished his doctorate in chemistry at Giessen in 1850. In later years, he cooperated with several chemists, like Robert Bunsen and August Kekulé.
Contributions
Emil Erlenmeyer has several major contributions to developing our knowledge of organic chemistry. He suggested a new description for carbon atom bonding in molecules. He defined that carbon atoms could bind together by double or triple bonds. This new definition supported Kekulé’s theory for the ring structure of benzene. Also, he was the first to propose the fused aromatic structure of naphthalene.
Several chemical compounds were synthesized by him, which would later be used in the pharmaceutical and food industry, including sodium oxalate, phenyl-lactic acid, and tyrosine as an aromatic amino acid. He discovered isobutyric acid. In addition, he isolated glycolic acid from unripe grapes, which is used as a main component in formulating dermatological products.
The Erlenmeyer Rule
Emil Erlenmeyer developed a rule for tautomerism of alcohols in 1880, which is named the Erlenmeyer rule. Tautomerism is a special case of structural isomerism. Isomers are compounds that have the same chemical formula, but differ from each other by the way in which the atoms are arranged. Tautomers are isomers of a compound that interconvert by the transfer of a proton (H+) from one position to another in the molecule.
Erlenmeyer found that alcohols in which the hydroxyl group (OH) is attached directly to a double-bonded carbon atom are susceptible to tautomerization. Through this process, known as keto-enol tautomerization today, alcohol is changed to an aldehyde or a ketone. In most cases, the keto form of the compound is more thermodynamically stable.
The Erlenmeyer Flask
Erlenmeyer invented his famous flask in 1861, which is named after him. An Erlenmeyer flask, also known as a conical flask, is a kind of laboratory equipment with a broad flat bottom, a conical shape, and a narrow neck. It is used in labs for mixing, cooling, heating, filtering, and storing liquids. The flat bottom makes it ideal for heating solutions, especially during recrystallization. Also, the sloping sides make it easy to swirl and mix solutions without spilling. The narrow neck can be closed with a glass stopper. Today, the Erlenmeyer flask has several important functions, not only in chemistry laboratories but also in other scientific laboratories.
Emil Erlenmeyer died on January 22, 1909.