Karl Elbs (13 September 1858 in Alt-Breisach,

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

– 24 August 1933) was a German chemist. He is credited with developing the

Elbs reaction The Elbs reaction is an organic reaction describing the pyrolysis of an ortho methyl substituted benzophenone to a condensed polyaromatic. The reaction is named after its inventor, the German chemist Karl Elbs, also responsible for the Elbs oxid ...

for the synthesis of

anthracene Anthracene is a solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) of formula C14H10, consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a component of coal tar. Anthracene is used in the production of the red dye alizarin and other dyes, as a scintil ...

. He is also responsible for the

Elbs persulfate oxidation The Elbs persulfate oxidation is the organic reaction of phenols with alkaline potassium persulfate to form '' para''-diphenols. The reaction is generally performed in water at room temperatures or below, using equimolar quantities of reagents. ...

. From 1877 he studied natural sciences at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1880 under the direction of

Adolf Karl Ludwig Claus Adolf Karl Ludwig Claus (6 June 1838 – 4 May 1900) was a German chemist. He is known for his structure of benzene proposed in 1867. Life Claus was born in 1838 in Kassel, Germany. Starting from 1850, he studied medicine in Marburg and later ch ...

. In 1887 he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

, then in 1894 was named a full professor at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

, where he served as director of the physico-chemistry laboratory.

Published works

* ''Die synthetischen Darstellungsmethoden der Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen'', 1889 – Synthetic methods of preparation of

carbon compounds Carbon compounds are chemical substances containing carbon. More compounds of carbon exist than any other chemical element except for hydrogen. Organic carbon compounds are far more numerous than inorganic carbon compounds. In general bonds o ...

. * ''Die Akkumulatoren : eine gemeinfassliche Darlegung ihrer Wirkungsweise, Leistung und Behandlung'', 1896 – Accumulators; their action, performance and handling. * ''Übungsbeispiele für die Elektrolytische Darstellung chemischer Präparate. Zum Gebrauch im Laboratorium für Chemiker und Elektrochemiker'', 1902,HathiTrust Digital Library
(published works) translated into English and published a
''Electrolytic Preparations: Exercises for Use in the Laboratory by Chemists and Electro-chemists''
(1903).

References

* The title is "Karl Elbs" 1858 births 1933 deaths 19th-century German chemists 20th-century German chemists People from Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald University of Freiburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Giessen {{Germany-chemist-stub