Henri Moissan
Moissan, Henri (1852-1907) was a French chemist who received the 1906 Nobel Prize in chemistry for isolating the gas fluorine and for developing the electric-arc furnace, which revolutionized the metallurgy industry.
Ferdinand-Frédéric-Henri Moissan was born in Paris, where he lived until 1864, when his family moved to Meaux. Moissan returned to Paris and worked as a pharmacist's apprentice. He then worked at the Paris Museum of Natural History. He earned a B.S. degree from the University of Paris in 1874, qualifying as a first-class pharmacist in 1879. He earned his doctorate in 1880.
Originally a biologist researching plant respiration, Moisson shifted his focus to inorganic chemistry while doing doctoral work on oxides of iron and related metals and chromium salts.
In 1884, Moissan began studying fluorine chemistry. Previous attempts to isolate fluorine had been unsuccessful because of the high toxicity of fluoride compounds and the difficulty in designing appropriate apparatus. His early attempts to isolate the element also failed; however, he discovered that solutions of potassium fluoride in hydrogen fluoride could conduct an electric current and remain liquid even at subzero temperatures. In June 1886, he broke down the two solutions by electrolysis and thus isolated pure fluorine. He then conducted a full study of the properties and reactions of fluorine.
In an effort to synthesize diamonds by crystallizing carbon under pressure from molten iron, Moisson developed an electric-arc furnace capable of reaching a temperature of 6300 °F (3500 °C). He first demonstrated it in December 1892. He claimed to have created diamonds in 1893, but many scientists doubt this claim. However, the furnace opened the field of high-temperature chemistry, enabling the reduction of metal oxides with carbon, and resulting in production of chromium, tungsten, titanium, and zirconium. He also prepared carbides, borides, and silicides.
In 1886, he became a professor of toxicology at the University of Paris and, from 1900 to 1907, he was professor of inorganic chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences. He wrote more than 300 publications.