User:Areed5/Henri Moissan

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Ferdinand Frédéric Henri Moissan (28 September 1852 – 20 February 1907) was a French chemist and pharmacist who won the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in isolating fluorine from its compounds. Moissan was one of the original members of the International Atomic Weights Committee.

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Early life and education

Moissan was born in Paris on 28 September 1852, the son of a minor officer of the eastern railway company, Francis Ferdinand Moissan, and a seamstress, Joséphine Améraldine (née Mitel). His mother was of Jewish descent, his father was not. In 1864, they moved to Meaux, where he attended the local school. During this time, Moissan became an apprentice clockmaker. However, in 1870, Moissan and his family moved back to Paris due to war against Prussia and Moissan was unable to receive  the grade universitaire necessary to attend university. After spending a year in the army, he enrolled at the Ecole Superieure de Pharmacie de Paris.

Death
He died suddenly in Paris in February 1907, shortly after his return from receiving the Nobel Prize in Stockholm. His death was attributed to an acute case of appendicitis, however, there is speculation that repeated exposure to fluorine and carbon monoxide also contributed to his death.

Further Studies

Moissan contributed to the development of the electric arc furnace, which opened several paths to developing and preparing new compounds, and attempted to use pressure to produce synthetic diamonds from the more common form of carbon. He also used the furnace to synthesize the borides and carbides of numerous elements. Calcium carbide was a noticeable accomplishment as this paved the way for the development of the chemistry of acetylene. While working with his students, he discovered new compounds such as bromine triflouride, oxygen diflouride, selenium tetrafluoride, and sulfur hexaflouride. In 1893, Moissan began studying fragments of a meteorite found in Meteor Crater near Diablo Canyon in Arizona. In these fragments he discovered minute quantities of a new mineral and, after extensive research, Moissan concluded that this mineral was made of silicon carbide. In 1905, this mineral was named moissanite, in his honor. Before his death, Moissan began to study the isolation of the ammonium radical. However, he was unable to complete his studies. In 1903 Moissan was elected member of the International Atomic Weights Committee where he served until his death.