Wilhelm Ostwald Former professor at the Riga Polytechnic, Nobel laureate in 1909 in chemistry. Date of Birth: 02.09.1853 Country: Germany

Biography of Wilhelm Ostwald

Wilhelm Ostwald, a Russian and German physicist, chemist, and idealist philosopher, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 "in recognition of his work on catalysis, as well as his investigations into the fundamental principles of chemical equilibrium and reaction rates."

Early Life and Education
Wilhelm Ostwald was born in Riga, Latvia, to Gotthelf Ostwald, a skilled cooper, and Elizabeth (Loickel) Ostwald. While attending the Riga Real Gymnasium, he excelled as a student with a wide range of interests. He was passionate about physics, chemistry, literature, and art, and also played the viola and piano. Despite his father's advice to pursue engineering, Ostwald developed a fascination with chemistry and became a student at the Chemical Faculty of the University of Tartu (then known as the University of Dorpat) in 1872. Four years later, he obtained his bachelor's degree and remained in Tartu as a graduate student while also working as an adjunct lecturer.

Contributions to Physical Chemistry
During the 1870s, German chemists were actively conducting research on the structure, properties, and synthesis of organic molecules. Ostwald, however, was interested in the then-neglected field of physical chemistry. In this area, chemical activity is analyzed by determining changes in physical properties of reacting substances, such as volume, refractive index, viscosity, color, and electrical conductivity. Ostwald's master's thesis at the University of Tartu focused on volume changes during the neutralization of acids with bases in dilute solutions. In 1878, he earned his doctoral degree for a dissertation on the optical refractive index of acid-base reactions.

Career and Achievements
While working as an assistant to physicist Arthur von Ettinghausen and teaching physics and chemistry at a local school, Ostwald continued his research on applying physical characteristics to the analysis of chemical reactions. In 1881, he was appointed a professor of chemistry at the Riga Polytechnic Institute. In the following years, he authored several textbooks that played a crucial role in establishing physical chemistry as a distinct discipline.

In 1884, Ostwald obtained a copy of the controversial doctoral dissertation by Svante Arrhenius, which had been submitted for defense at Uppsala University. Arrhenius proposed a theory explaining the dissociation of acids and bases in aqueous solutions into electrically charged ions. At that time, the prevailing belief was that oppositely charged particles could not coexist in a solution, leading to a low rating for Arrhenius' work at Uppsala University. However, Ostwald found Arrhenius' ideas worthy of attention and immediately applied them to test his own research on acid affinity. He later recalled, "Using a resistance shop borrowed for a few days from the telegraph office (they couldn't do without it for longer)... I soon conducted experiments with all the acids that other researchers provided me with, with increasing excitement, I discovered that one result after another confirmed the predictions and expectations." Ostwald not only supported Arrhenius' ideas but also promoted their dissemination among chemists. Furthermore, he facilitated Arrhenius' receipt of a postdoctoral scholarship, enabling him to continue his research.

However, the idea that molecules dissociate into stable, electrically charged particles upon dissolving in polar solvents such as water was considered excessively complex by many chemists. They rejected the notion that solutions contained ions, believing that ions with opposite charges must inevitably recombine to form molecules. Their doubts were further reinforced when attempts to accurately predict the "behavior" of very strong acids and bases failed. In the early 20th century, Peter Debye and Lars Onsager developed the theory of dissociation based on the electronic explanation of atomic structure. Much later, the demonstration through X-ray structural analysis that crystals of strong electrolytes consist of an ionic lattice and fully ionize at any concentration convinced the chemical community of the validity of the theory of ionization.

In 1887, Ostwald was appointed the first professor of physical chemistry at Leipzig University, where his colleagues and assistants included Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Svante Arrhenius, and Walther Nernst. In the same year, he founded the "Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie" (Journal of Physical Chemistry), of which he remained the editor for many years. He also established the German Electrochemical Society, which was later transformed into the German Physical Chemistry Society (Bunsen Society). Ostwald's interest in the theory of ionization allowed him to see it as an excellent explanation for many chemical reactions in which weak acids and bases serve as catalysts. (Just as with the dissociation of strong electrolytes, the catalytic activity of strong acids and bases was not adequately predicted by this theory.) When a chemical equilibrium exists, the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal. Ostwald demonstrated that the presence of a catalyst accelerates the reaction in both directions equally. He also showed that a system gradually transitions from a less stable state to a more stable one and does not always reach its most stable state. This relationship became known as Ostwald's dilution law. Applying his knowledge of catalytic processes to industrial development, Ostwald investigated the synthesis of ammonia from hydrogen using iron wire as a catalyst.

Later Years and Legacy
In 1890, Ostwald became interested in the concept of energy as the primordial basis of the physical world. Skeptical of all materialistic theories, especially the atomic-molecular theory, Ostwald believed that natural phenomena could be explained through energy transformations. In line with this approach, he derived the laws of thermodynamics as philosophical generalizations. After a year spent giving lectures at Harvard University as part of an exchange program (during which he learned Esperanto and developed his own artificial language), Ostwald retired in 1906 and dedicated himself to studying the energy of color, as well as engaging in organizational and writing activities. He developed a quantitative theory of color with a scale for ordering colors, which he presented in an atlas of colors, and devised a system of color harmony.

In 1909, Wilhelm Ostwald was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "in recognition of his work on catalysis, as well as his investigations into the fundamental principles of chemical equilibrium and reaction rates." Representing the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, Hans von Hübener emphasized the value of Ostwald's discoveries not only for the development of theory but also for their practical application, such as the production of sulfuric acid and the synthesis of dyes based on indigo. Hübener also predicted that the study of catalysis would greatly contribute to understanding the function of enzymes. In his later years, Ostwald became involved in various educational, cultural, and reformist movements, including internationalism, pacifism, and the conservation of natural resources. He actively participated in the work of numerous international scientific societies, including the International Atomic Weights Commission and the International Association of Chemical Societies. Ostwald also engaged in discussions on state education and the training of scientists.

Personal Life and Demise
In 1880, Ostwald married Nelly von Reyher, the daughter of a surgeon from Riga. They had two daughters and three sons, one of whom, Wilhelm Wolfgang Ostwald, became a prominent scientist in the field of colloid chemistry. Wilhelm Ostwald passed away at the age of 78 in his home near Leipzig on April 4, 1932. One of his former students, Wilder Bancroft, wrote, "Ostwald was a great fighter and an inspiring teacher. He had the gift of saying what was needed and how it was needed. When we consider the development of chemistry as a whole, Ostwald's name stands in the forefront. Ostwald found his place in life."