Development of Instrumental Techniques: The Twentieth Century - Important Figures of Analytical Chemistry from Germany in Brief Biographies - page 97

Fig. 4.2 Portrait of Wilhelm
Böttger (1871-1949). Photo
Archive Faculty Chemistry
and Mineralogy, Universität
Leipzig, with permission
Die wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der analytischen Chemie (The scientific foun-
dations of analytical chemistry) [ 5 ], which is an early review of applications of
physico-chemical principle to the solution of analytical problems. From then on,
Böttger considered the liberation of analytical chemistry from empiricism to be his
task for life [ 6 ]. He completed his PhD in Ostwald's group in 1897 on the appli-
cation of the electrometer as indicator for the determination of acids and bases.
After being assistant of Otto Wallach in Göttingen, he moved back to Leipzig to
work with Wilhelm Ostwald and Max LeBlanc (1903) in the Institute of Physical
Chemistry at Universität Leipzig, where he habilitated in 1903 in analytical and
physical chemistry [ 7 ]. In 1904/1905, he worked as research associate of A.A.
Noyes at the Institute of Technology in Boston and became Extraordinary Professor
in Leipzig in 1910. In 1922, he became Extraordinary Honorary Professor at the
same university (for portrait see Fig. 4.2 ). His focus was again on the development
of a scientific foundation of analytical chemistry, which at that time still mainly
had an empirical background. Böttger developed the technique of potentiomet-
ric titration, which he learnt from its inventor, Robert Behrend, whilst working in
Ostwald's institute. He introduced liquid mercury electrodes into analytical practice
and studied the applicability of dyestuffs for the determination of endpoints in acid-
base titrations. Böttger introduced standard solutions for titrations (FIXANAL ® )
and controlled their commercial manufacture by J.D. Riedel-E. de Haën AG from
1922. His topic Qualitative Analyse vom Standpunkt der Ionenlehre (Qualitative
analysis from the point of view of ion theory) was widely used for over two decades
[ 8 ]. His topic series Physikalische Methoden der analytischen Chemie (Physical
methods of analytical chemistry) was also very well accepted [ 9 - 12 ]. After his
retirement in 1938, Böttger moved to Hanover and continued his research there.