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Educación química
Print version ISSN 0187-893X
Abstract
WISNIAK, Jaime. Daniel Berthelot: Part III. Contribution to photochemistry. Educ. quím [online]. 2010, vol.21, n.4, pp.314-323. ISSN 0187-893X.
Daniel Berthelot (1865-1927) used ultraviolet radiation from the mercury vapor lamp to carry out a series of oxidation and polymerization reactions, and proved that many reactions carried on by electrolysis could also be performed by photolysis. In doing so he discovered a myriad of unknown phenomena. By exposing to the action of UV a mixture of water and carbon dioxide, he achieved the synthesis of formic acid which then condensed and polymerized to produce vegetable sugars. A mixture of CO2 and NH3 gave rise to the simplest of the quaternary compounds, formamide, which represents the starting point for albuminous or proteinic substances, the basis of living matter.
Keywords : photochemistry; synthesis of chemicals; photolysis; actinometer.