Some new documents illuminating the controversy about the vestium-ruthenium discovery

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• 作者：Yves Jeannin
• 关键词：Ruthenium discovery ; Vestium-ruthenium ; Sniadecki discovery
• 刊名：Comptes Rendus Chimie
• 出版年：2012
• 出版时间：July, 2012
• 年：2012
• 卷：15
• 期：7
• 页码：580-584
• 全文大小：162 K

文摘

On 17 June 1808, Jna Sniadecki, Rector of University of Wilno, now Vilnius in Lithuania, sent a letter written in French to Jean-Baptiste Delambre, Perpetual Secretary of the Acad¨¦mie des sciences, to tell him, among other things, about the discovery by his brother Jedresz of a new metal, vestium, in native platinum. He asked that the Acad¨¦mie would express its opinion on his brother's discovery. This letter has recently been found in the Acad¨¦mie archives. This metal was the last found in the platinum mine. A report explaining the analytic method used was attached to the letter. Berthollet, de Fourcroy, Guyton de Morveau and Vauquelin, selected by the Acad¨¦mie, did not publicly express an opinion and did not reply to Sniadecki, who then stopped his research. Unfortunately, the report has disappeared. In 1845, Claus, Professor at the University of Kazan, announced the discovery of ruthenium, which was confirmed by Berzelius. Thus there is controversy about who was the true discoverer of vestium-ruthenium, Sniadecki or Claus. This is still under discussion today. Two documents written by Sniadecki, both dated, have been found these last years. They describe in a very similar way, the experiments conducted by Sniadecki. One is written in Polish; it consists of 27 printed pages, and is to be found in the library of Vilnius University. The other is in French, has eight hand-written pages, and was published in Poland in 1967; it had been sent to the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint-Petersburg for publication. The coincidence between the dates of this second text, and the letter sent to Paris, as well as their translation into French, allows one to think that the report sent to Paris was identical to that sent to Saint-Petersburg. If discussion on the historical circumstances to decide the name of the discoverer continues, an exhaustive, critical analysis of the chemistry as described by Sniadecki has been hardly undertaken in a detailed manner. This study shows that Sniadecki was mistaken. Why? The mineral attack by aqua regia gives a solution and a residue. Sniadecki announced that he had found vestium in the solution, whereas ruthenium is totally insoluble in aqua regia and is today prepared for the residue. Sniadecki had isolated vestium in the form of a chloride insoluble in alcohol whereas ruthenium chloride is soluble in alcohol. Thus the discovery of ruthenium must be attributed to Claus.