Today's Chemistry Department at Hamburg University originated from the “Chemisches Staatsinstitut” (State Chemical Institute), which itself emerged from the “Chemisches Staatslaboratorium” (State Chemical Laboratory) when the university was founded. The roots of the “Chemisches Staatslaboratorium”extend back to the chemical laboratory of the “Akademisches Gymnasium” (Academic Gymnasium).
The history can be divided into seven major steps:
1613-1837 |
“Akademisches Gymnasium” (Academic Gymnasium) with chemistry only as a small part of the natural sciences |
1837-1883 |
“Akademisches Gymnasium” with chemistry as a special subject, characterized by Karl Wiebel |
1878-1921 |
“Chemisches Staatslaboratorium” (State Chemical Laboratory), characterized by Ferdinand Wibel and Max Dennstedt |
1919-1945 |
„Chemisches Staatsinstitut“ (State Chemical Institute) at the University of Hamburg until the end of World War II, characterized by Paul Rabe, Heinrich Remy and Heinrich Schlubach
Otto Stern was Head of the independent Institute for Physical Chemistry.
|
1945-1969 |
C„Chemisches Staatsinstitut“ at the University of Hamburg, characterized among others by Kurt Heyns and Heinrich Remy |
1969 |
Department of Chemistry of the University of Hamburg, characterized among others by Kurt Heyns, Reinhard Nast, Hansjörg Sinn and Wolf Walter.
|
1985 |
Foundation of an independent Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry with an own building in Bundesstraße. |
To begin with, chemistry was not an independent subject, but only part of the natural sciences. Joachim Jungius, Professor of Physics and Logic from 1629–1657, dealt with atomism and thus contributed to the foundation of chemistry as a natural science. In his dissertation "Doxoscopiae Physicae Minores" he rejected the four elements of antiquity (fire, earth, air and water) and the three of alchemy (mercury, sulfur, salt) and defined chemical elements as uniform substances that cannot be further broken down. He also contradicted the alchemists' idea of extracting gold by converting other metals.
With the appointment of Karl Wiebel, chemistry then became an independent subject. He also set up a chemical laboratory that was given new tasks. In 1878, the laboratory of the “Akademisches Gymnasium” was transferred to the independent “Chemisches Staatslaboratorium”. The Gymnasium itself was then dissolved a little later.
In 1928, a Department for Technical Chemistry was established at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the “Chemisches Staatsinstitut” with Ernst Jantzen as the head, who was a student of Paul Rabe. The separation method, known as countercurrent distribution (fractional distribution), was developed by him in Hamburg. It was the aim that technical chemistry should be a point of contact between basic chemical research, engineering and industrial practice.
After Ernst Jantzen retired in 1960 and the “Chemisches Staatsinstitut” moved to Martin-Luther-King Platz, the Department for Technical Chemistry became an independent Department for Applied Chemistry, which was organisationally affiliated with the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry. In 1965, Hansjörg Sinn was appointed as a full professor. The department was expanded through generous donations from some Hamburg industrialists and the DECHEMA. Hansjörg Sinn's goal of establishing the applied chemistry more broadely was achieved in 1985 when an independent Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry was founded. Technical chemistry in teaching and research is carried out using, for example, the synthesis of polymers, the performance of reactions in polyreactions, the analysis and physics of the polymers and the recycling of polymers.
Since 1979, with the work of Walter Kaminsky, the research activities have focused on catalyst development and catalytic polymerization. Thanks to Hans-Ulrich Moritz, reactor design and reaction reliability, particularly in polymerization technology, have been given a high priority at the institute for more than 20 years, and this expertise has been in high demand. Since 2008 there has been an orientation towards materials science with polymer processing and material testing. This has resulted in a focus of macromolecular chemistry in Hamburg with a wide range of applications and many industrial contacts.