Chemistry Labs

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Fritz Haber

1868–1934 · Germany · Born in the 1800s

Nobel Chemistry 1918

Developed the synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen, the basis of modern fertilizers; his role in chemical warfare remains deeply controversial.

Nobel-winning work

The 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry honored his development of the catalytic synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen, NX2+3 HX2→2 NHX3\ce{N2 + 3H2 -> 2NH3}, carried out under high pressure. This 'fixation' of nitrogen from air made fertilizer and explosive production possible on an industrial scale, transforming agriculture.

Fields

Physical chemistryIndustrial and applied chemistry

Related topics

Production of H₂SO₄, NH₃ (Haber–Bosch), HNO₃, NaOH

Four foundational industrial routes show how reaction equilibrium, catalysis, separations and recycle combine in continuous chemical manufacture.

Chemists in the same field

Theodore William Richards (1868)Richard Adolf Zsigmondy (1865)Walther Nernst (1864)Carl Bosch (1874)Gilbert N. Lewis (1875)Svante Arrhenius (1859)