Carl Schotten (12 July 1853 – 9 January 1910) was a German chemist who, together with

Eugen Baumann Eugen Baumann (12 December 1846 – 3 November 1896) was a German chemist. He was one of the first people to create polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and, together with Carl Schotten, he discovered the Schotten-Baumann reaction. Life Baumann was born i ...

, discovered the Schotten-Baumann reaction. The Schotten-Baumann reaction is a method to synthesize

amide In organic chemistry, an amide, also known as an organic amide or a carboxamide, is a chemical compound, compound with the general formula , where R, R', and R″ represent any group, typically organyl functional group, groups or hydrogen at ...

s from

amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...

s and

acid chloride In organic chemistry, an acyl chloride (or acid chloride) is an organic compound with the functional group . Their formula is usually written , where R is a side chain. They are reactive derivatives of carboxylic acids (). A specific example o ...

s. Examples of this reaction include the synthesis of N-vanillyl nonanamide, also known as synthetic

capsaicin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) (, rarely ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a potent Irritation, irritant for Mammal, mammals, including humans, and produces ...

Life and work

Schotten was born as the third child of a

syndic ''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or p ...

at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, his mother was a daughter of a law professor. Although he lost his father at the age of two, his intellectual family background allowed him to receive a good education. After attending the gymnasium in

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

and

Schulpforta Schulpforta, otherwise known as Pforta, is a school located in Pforta monastery, a former Cistercian monastery (1137–1540). The school is located near Naumburg on the Saale River in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The site has been a sch ...

, he studied medicine at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. He later moved to the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

and changed his subject to chemistry. Schotten joined the group of

August Wilhelm von Hofmann August Wilhelm von Hofmann (8 April 18185 May 1892) was a German chemist who made considerable contributions to organic chemistry. His research on aniline helped lay the basis of the aniline-dye industry, and his research on coal tar laid the g ...

at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

in 1875. There, he received his Ph.D. in 1878 under the supervision of Ferdinand Tiemann. Schotten stayed three years in the private laboratory of von Hofmann. In 1881, he was invited by

Emil du Bois-Reymond Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond (7 November 1818 – 26 December 1896) was a German physiologist, the co-discoverer of nerve action potential, and the developer of experimental electrophysiology. His lectures on science and culture earned him grea ...

to become lecturer at the

physiological Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

institute at the University of Berlin. His analysis of

pyridine Pyridine is a basic (chemistry), basic heterocyclic compound, heterocyclic organic compound with the chemical formula . It is structurally related to benzene, with one methine group replaced by a nitrogen atom . It is a highly flammable, weak ...

piperidine Piperidine is an organic compound with the molecular formula (CH2)5NH. This heterocyclic amine consists of a six-membered ring containing five methylene bridges (–CH2–) and one amine bridge (–NH–). It is a colorless liquid with an odor de ...

and coniine paved the way for the determination of the structural relations within these three compounds.

Schotten-Baumann reaction

During his work at the physiological institute, Schotten, together with

, discovered a method to synthesize

s from

s and

s; this method is still known as the Schotten-Baumann reaction.*

Later life

Schotten stayed at Berlin University until 1891, when he changed to the imperial patent office. He held that position until his death in 1910.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schotten, Carl 1853 births 1910 deaths 19th-century German chemists Leipzig University alumni Scientists from Marburg 20th-century German chemists