History of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Overview of the Beginnings of Physical Chemistry
The term "Physical Chemistry" is said to have been defined by the Russian polymath M.W. Lomonosov (1711-1765): "Physical chemistry is a science that explains the phenomena occurring during chemical processes based on physical concepts and experiments." However, more than a century passed before relevant specialized journals were founded by individuals like Ostwald, van't Hoff, and others, which eventually led to the establishment of the "Berichte der Deutschen Bunsengesellschaft für Physikalische Chemie" (Reports of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry) (Source: Ulrich Schindewolf, Bunsenmagazin, 2nd year, 6/2000, pp. 138-147)
Throughout this century and even before, fundamental knowledge was acquired that is now considered fundamental to the field of Physical Chemistry. Examples include the gas laws (Boyle-Mariotte, Avogadro), spectroscopy (Bunsen), solution equilibria (Ostwald), and electrochemistry (Nernst).It was only a matter of time before "Physical Chemistry" found its place as an independent field of study and research at universities.
M. Zeidler (Bunsenmagazin, 10th year, 3/2008) also outlines the establishment of departments and chairs as the initial beginnings of Physical Chemistry (in tabular form). Universities such as Göttingen (1896) with Nernst (Nobel Prize 1920), Leipzig (1898) with Ostwald (Nobel Prize 1909), and Karlsruhe (1900) with LeBlanc each claimed to have independently founded institutes and chairs for Physical Chemistry in their anniversary publications, asserting themselves as pioneers. Humboldt University Berlin claims 1878 as the founding year of an Institute for Physical Chemistry, but it is likely that the field of Physical Chemistry at HU Berlin truly began with the appointment of Nernst in 1904. The rise of Physical Chemistry was accompanied by mixed feelings. Physiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond enthused before the Berlin Academy of Sciences: "In contrast to modern chemistry (i.e., organic chemistry), physical chemistry is the chemistry of the future" (1882). On the other hand, we read in the letters of Carl Duisberg (head of Bayer-Werke): "Physical chemistry is a specialty that only Ostwald's and Nernst's students promote, and it is touted as a fashionable trend, but it is of no practical use to chemists" (1897). Twenty years later, this industrial leader still held the same prejudices, which he documented in a letter to Fritz Haber regarding physical-chemical doctoral dissertations: "...it should not be unknown to you that industry rejects all such applicants and, after numerous experiences, cannot use them... I feel sorry for these young chemists..." (Source - Schindewolf: 100 Years of the Institute for Physical Chemistry at the University of Karlsruhe, Bunsenmagazin, 2nd year, 6/2000)
At that time, the path for the Technical University of Munich (TUM) to establish an independent field of Physical Chemistry was accordingly long and challenging, not only for this reason.
Teaching of Physical Chemistry at TUM Until the Establishment of the First Chair of Physical Chemistry in 1932
The author focuses on the scientific personalities and institutions that had a significant influence on these fields in research and teaching before 1932, i.e., before the founding of the Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Detailed insights into their life stories can be found in "The History of Inorganic Chemistry" (W.A. Herrmann) and "The History of Organic Chemistry" (E. Fontain) (Faculty of Chemistry TUM website, History), as well as in the work "TUM - History of a Business Enterprise," by Martin Pabst/Margot Fuchs, ed. W.A. Herrmann. Metropol Verlag, 2006.
Wilhelm von Miller (1848-1899)
The son of the founder of the Deutsches Museum, Oskar von Miller, began his teaching career at TUM in 1880 after studying chemistry here from 1871 to 1874. He earned his doctorate in 1874 at LMU. He was appointed as an assistant to Erlenmeyer and habilitated in 1875. Stays at various German universities led him to TUM in 1880, where he succeeded Erlenmeyer in 1883.
Wilhelm von Miller's greatest contributions to Physical Chemistry at TUM, aside from teaching in the electrochemical department, were likely the establishment of the first electrochemical laboratory in Germany and the creation of a laboratory for X-ray investigations, mostly funded privately.
(Source - Wöbke, Bernd, "Miller, Wilhelm," in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 17 (1994), pp. 519 f. [Online version]; URL: www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd11704380X.html W.R. Pötsch: Lexicon of Significant Chemists)
Wilhelm Muthmann (1861-1913)
Following Wilhelm von Miller's untimely death in 1899, Wilhelm Muthmann was appointed. Muthmann studied in Leipzig, Berlin, and Heidelberg (under Bunsen) and earned his doctorate in Munich in 1886. Afterward, he followed a call to Boston but returned to Munich and the Institute of Mineralogy (Groth) in 1888. He habilitated at LMU in 1894 with contributions to the volume theory of crystallized bodies. In 1895, he was appointed an associate professor at the Chemical State Laboratory. After his appointment to TUM in 1899, he retained the electrochemical laboratory, which was likely the most modern at the time and had been handed over by Wilhelm von Miller. It continued to function as an independent unit alongside the departments of inorganic, analytical, and organic chemistry under his leadership. It was only later, in 1907, that electrochemistry became independent under the leadership of associate professor Johann Hofer. Wilhelm Muthmann also passed away prematurely in 1913.
(Source: Priesner, Claus, "Muthmann, Wilhelm," in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 18 (1997), pp. 654 f. [Online version])
Wilhelm Manchot (1869-1945)
In 1914, Wilhelm Manchot succeeded to the chair with the following appointment text: "Ordinary Professorship for Inorganic Chemistry, Inorganic Experimental Chemistry, and Analytical Chemistry, including the fundamentals of Physical and Organic Chemistry." Physical Chemistry had now arrived as an independent discipline, represented by an outstanding scientific personality.
(Source - Wikipedia article: "Wilhelm Manchot (Chemist)")
Hans Fischer (1881-1945)
Hans Fischer was appointed to the chair of Organic Chemistry at TUM in 1921, succeeding Heinrich Wieland. He vigorously advocated for the establishment of a chair of Physical/Electrochemistry at TUM. His efforts, however, failed due to both a lack of funding and the authoritarianism of the State Laboratory and the Ludwig Maximilian University, where Kasimir Fajans had been a professor of Physical Chemistry since 1917 and wanted to exclusively oversee this field in Munich. This was despite the fact that the available space did not allow the Ludwig Maximilian University to additionally meet the teaching needs of the Technical University. Fischer's persistence gained the necessary traction only after he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. Consequently, the ordinary professorship for literature history, which had been vacant since 1923, was converted into a professorship for Physical Chemistry. On April 1, 1932, Günter Scheibe was appointed as Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich. The management of the Electrochemical Laboratory was only definitively transferred to him in 1936 (without any claim to compensation). (E. Kohler in Faculty of Chemistry, Biology and Earth Sciences, 1989, pp. 29-31)
April 1, 1932, is thus considered the founding date of the Institute for Physical Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich.
Author: Dr. Edmund Cmiel (former Senior Academic Director of the Institute for Physical Chemistry at TUM) - translated into English