Richard abegg chemist biography of donald

Richard Wilhelm Heinrich Abegg (1869 – 1910) was a German chemist[1] and pioneer of valence theory. Because of his research he proposed that the difference of the maximum positive and negative valence of an element tends to be eight.

This has become to be called Abegg's rule.

Richard abegg chemist biography of donald

He was a gas balloon enthusiast, which caused his death at the age of 41 when he crashed in his balloon in Schlesien.

Abegg received his PhD in 19 July 1891 under Hofmann at the University of Berlin. Abegg learned organic chemistry from Hofmann, but one year after finishing his PhD degree turned to physical chemistry while studying with Ostwald (Leipzig).

Abegg later served as Nernst's (Göttingen) and Arrhenius' (Stockholm) private assistant.

He discovered the theory of freezing point depression and anticipated Lewis' octet rule by pointing out that the lowest and highest oxidation states of elements often differ by eight.

He studied alkali metal polyiodides, electrochemical potentials in non-aqueous solution