Element Properties
  By Name
  By Atomic Number
  By Density
  Melting & Boiling Point
  Electron Configuration
  Radioactive Elements
  Noble & Precious Metals
Periodic Table Groups
  Periodic Table
  Alkali Metals
  Alkaline Earth Metals
  Halogens
  Noble (Inert) Gases
  Rare Earth Elements
  Transition Metals
  Metalloids (Semimetals)
  Nonmetals
  Poor Metals
Materials
  Toxic Substances
  Semiconductor Materials
  Vitamins
  Amino Acids
Inventions & Patents
Reference
|
Chemistry Inventions, Discoveries and Patents
|
Invention | Inventor | Year | Short Description | Patent No. |
Aluminum | Charles Hall | 1888 | Electrolytic method for extracting pure aluminum from its ore | US400,665 |
Anti-Leukemia Drugs | Gertrude Elion | 1955 | 2-Amino-6-Mercaptopurine, or Purinethol, the first major medicine to fight leukemia. | US2,884,667 |
Bakelite | Leo Baekeland | 1907 | Nonflammable material that was cheaper and more versatile than other known plastics. Used in everything from engine parts to jewelry to electronics. | US942,699 |
Bromine Extraction | Herbert Dow | 1891 | Entirely new method of extracting bromine from prehistoric brine. | US11,232 |
Carborundum | Edward Acheson | 1897 | Highly effective abrasive used in manufacturing. | US492,767 US615,648 |
Catalytic Cracking | William Burton | 1912 | First commercially successful process for cracking crude oil into gasoline and other products. | US1,049,667 |
Cortisone(Synthetic) | Lewis Sarett | 1945 | Synthetic version of the hormone cortisone: an effective treatment against rheumatoid arthritis. | US2,462,133 |
Dynamite | Alfred Nobel | 1866 | Combination of nitroglycerin absorbed by a porous substance that enabled an easily handled, solid yet malleable explosive. | US78,317 |
HDPE and Polypropylene Plastics | Robert Banks Paul Hogan | 1956 | A method to produce HDPE in a low pressure situation. | US2,825,721 |
Isothiocyanate Compounds | Joseph Burckhalter Robert Seiwald | 1958 | Identification of antigens through the synthesis of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) | US2,937,186 |
Kevlar | Stephanie Kwolek | 1971 | Polymer fiber five times stronger than the same weight of steel for bullet-resistant vests and many other applications. | US3,819,587 |
Nystatin | Rachel Brown Elizabeth Hazen | 1952 | Antifungal / antibiotic cure for many disfiguring and disabling fungal infections of the skin, mouth, throat, and intestinal tract. | US2,797,183 |
Oral Contraceptives | Frank Colton | 1951 | Enovid, the first oral contraceptive | US2,691,028 |
Pasteurization | Louis Pasteur | 1862 | Process of heating food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts. | US135,245 |
Peanut Products | George Washington Carver | 1923 | Peanut cosmetics, paints and stains. | US1,522,176 US1,541,478 |
Penicillin Production | Andrew Moyer | 1945 | By culturing the penicillium mold in a culture broth comprising corn steep liquor and lactose, penicillin yields could be increased many fold | US2,442,141 US2,443,989 |
Penicillin Production | John Sheehan | 1957 | The first rational total and general synthesis of natural penicillin. | US3,939,151 |
Pentothal | Donalee Tabern Ernest Volwiler | 1936 | General anesthetic Pentothal, one of the most important agents in modern medicine | US2,153,729 |
pH Meter | Arnold Beckman | 1935 | Apparatus for testing acidity | US2,058,761 |
Photography | George Eastman | 1885 | The first commercial film was cut in narrow strips and wound on a roller device patented by Eastman and Walker | US226,503 |
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) | Kary Mullis | 1983 | PCR amplifies specific DNA sequences from very small amounts of complex genetic material. The amplification produces an almost unlimited number of highly purified DNA molecules suitable for analysis or manipulation. Essential for screening genetic and infectious diseases, genetics, medicine, forensics and paternity testing. | US4,683,202 |
Polyurethane | William Hanford Donald Holmes | 1939 | Process that reacts polyols and related hydroxy compounds with di-isocyanates for making the multipurpose material polyurethane. Uses: upholstery, heat-insulation, artificial hearts, safety padding in modern automobiles and carpeting. | US2,284,896 |
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) | Waldo Semon | 1926 | A method to plasticize PVC by blending it with various additives rendering it a more flexible and more easily processed material that soon has become the world's second-best-selling plastic. | US1,929,453 US2,188,396 |
Prozac | Bryan Molloy Klaus Schmiegel | 1974 | A class of aryloxyphenylpropylamines, which includes the active ingredient in Prozac®, the most widely used antidepressant. | US4,314,081 |
Scotchgard (TM) Textile Protector | Patsy Sherman Samuel Smith | 1956 | One of the most widely used and valuable products in stain repellency and soil removal. | US3,574,791 |
Synthetic Rubber | Julius Nieuwland | 1928 | A process by which monovinylacetylene were treated with hydrogen chloride and the resulting chloroprene polymerized, neoprene would result. | US1,811,959 |
Synthetic Rubber | Wallace Carothers | 1930 | A process that enabled the large-scale production of Neoprene, the first commercially successful synthetic rubber. | US2,130,947 US2,130,948 |
Tagamet - Cimetidine | Graham Durant John Emmett Charon Ganellin | 1974 | Tagamet is one of the world's most essential drugs for its ability to heal stomach ulcers without surgery. | US3,950,333 US4,024,271 |
Teflon | Roy Plunkett | 1938 | A synthetic fluoropolymer which has an extremely low coefficient of friction against polished steel and is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. It is very non-reactive, and so is often used in containers and pipework for reactive and corrosive chemicals. | US2,230,654 |
Tetracycline | Lloyd Conover | 1953 | Tetracycline one of the most prescribed broad spectrum antibiotic and is the drug of choice for a number of serious bacterial infections. | US2,699,054 |
Titanium | William Kroll | 1932 | "Kroll Process" enables the production of metallic ductile titanium by combining titanium tetrachloride with calcium. | US2,205,854 |
Transparent Silica | James Hyde | 1934 | A process for making fused silica, an impurity-free glass, using a method called “frame hydrolysis.” | US2,272,342 |
Vaccine for Hepatitis B | Baruch Blumberg Irving Millman | 1963 | Blumberg discovered an antigen in 1963 that detected the presence of hepatitis B in blood samples. Blumberg and Millman developed later a test that identified hepatitis B in blood samples and developed a vaccine against the virus. | US3,636,191 US3,872,225 |
Vitamins | Max Tishler | 1940 | Process for the synthesis of riboflavin that would permit economical, large-scale production of the essential vitamin (B2). | US2,261,608 US2,404,199 |
Vitamins | Robert Williams | 1933 | Isolation of vitamin B1 (thiamine) from a syrup of rice polishings. | US2,049,988 |
Vulcanization of Rubber | Charles Goodyear | 1839 | A process by which rubber is mixed with sulfur and heated - what came to be known as vulcanization strengthened rubber. Uses: a vast variety of industrial uses, including, eventually, automobile tires. | US3,633 |
|