Creation of the first ion exchangers and beginning of their broad application

Abstract

We conduct history of the first ion exchangers from the middle of the 19th century when the German chemist H.Eichhorn the first has tried to investigate natural minerals (aluminosilicates shabazit Chabazite and Natrolite) on ion-exchange ability. In 1858 Eichhorn by practical consideration was succeeded to prove that aluminosilicates (zeolites) are responsible for ionic exchange in the soil; absorption size (in modern terminology – absorption capacity) the bases aluminosilicate of course; process of ionic exchange is reversible, however the bases exchange with a different speed. And at the end of the 19th century the first attempts of synthesis of ion-exchange sorbents made by the domestic geochemist Ivan Ivanovich Lemberg (25.08.1842-7.11.1902) in Yur’ev (nowadays Tartu) university have been made.

The first attempts of industrial use of ion exchangers have begun in the 20th century, and the main merit of development of technology of receiving ion exchangers on the basis of zeolites and their broad application belongs to the German chemist and the soil scientist Robert Gans (Ernst Alwin Robert Gans, (7.03.1865-24.8.1940). In 1905 his key work «Zeolites and similar compounds, their structure and value for the industry and agriculture» has been published. And during the period from 1905 to 1915 he has completely devoted himself to detailed scientific studying of zeolites. We have investigated the biography of this outstanding chemist and also all his works devoted to ion exchangers are analysed.

We see in works of the creator of a chromatography Mikhail Semyonovich Tsvet (14.05.1872-26.06.1919) that some of the consistent patterns determined by him matter as well for other types of a chromatography. So, for example, the law of the adsorptive replacement opened by Tsvet belongs equally both to molecular, and to an ion-exchange chromatography. Literally in a chromatography Tsvet didn't write about application of ion exchange, however noted a possibility of existence of polar adsorption.

Use of ion exchangers is connected with Georg-Maria Schwab (Georg-Maria Schwab, 3.02.1899-23.12.1984) – the German physics-chemist. Because practically his biographic data and the analysis of his researches of the end of the 30th - begun the 40th aren't in literature, we took the purpose to carry out this task, since these works have played an important role in the history of a chromatography. The main directions of researches of Schwab were the reactionary kinetics, a heterogeneous catalysis and a chromatography. His researches on chromatography separation of inorganic ions have begun in the late thirties. Results of researches was the cycle of works under the general name "Inorganic Chromatography" published during the period from 1936 to 1949. Despite narrow practical orientation of works and almost total absence of theoretical justifications of observed processes, a series of works of Schwab certainly has exerted huge impact on further history of a chromatography.

In 1939-1941 there were two works of Hans Erlenmeyer with colleagues from the University of Basel devoted to chromatography separation of some transitional metals. It was so offered to use 8-oxyquinoline as the ion exchanger and also violuric acid which forms strongly painted salts with many cations.

Though inorganic ion exchangers were the first, they have practically lost the value after discovery of organic resins which has happened in the thirties. In 1935 Adams and Holmes have published work «Adsorptive properties of synthetic resins and their use» where have stated that they have found ability to exchange ions at synthetic organic polymers, thereby having for the first time filled up group of the known ions with synthetic ion-exchange resins. For 1935-1940 Adams and Holmes have taken  in the different countries a set of patents for synthesis of ion exchangers. These resins have been improved by the I.G. Farben Industrie company in Germany, behind them productions in the USA and Great Britain have appeared. Their production was very effective for chromatography separations, cleaning and other purposes.

Thus, we have shown how creators of the first ion exchangers carried out the difficult way from studying of natural objects – the soil and minerals to receiving synthetic mineral and polymeric sorbents for which have found broad practical application that in the 30th–40th years has led the to revival and development of a chromatography.