Gerhard Ertl
2007 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry
Biography
- Born on October 10, 1936 in Bad Cannstatt, Germany
- He was working for the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft at the time of his award
- Field: inorganic chemistry and surface chemistry
- Education: Technical University of Stuttgart (M.A., 1961), the University of Paris, and the Technical University of Munich (Ph.D., 1965) High school (Johannes Kepler Gymnasium)
- Fun Fact! He was a piano player in a band he formed called the Perroquets!
Why Did they Win?
He won because he caused ripples in the small field of surface chemistry
His research can explain
-Explain the destruction of the ozone layerIt helps solve the problem
-How fuel cells can be better
-Better understanding of why things rust
It is currently being used for
-anticorrosion suits
-medical implants
The future impact of the research is
- Molecular understanding
- way to create chemicals easier
His disovery didn't challenge other findings; his research and discovery was completely new
Experiments and Lab Work
- He also led an experiment in which he tested the interactions of oxygen on copper crystal surfaces (semi-conductor). He decided to study these interactions more in the future.
- His scientific method: Solid surfaces have a big influence on chemical processes!
- Used LEED at the beginnning of career, but later used STM and UPS in order to get results from his experiments in surface science, as observation techniques
Experimental Results!
- Determined new method of reacting ammonia over iron, which is the Haber-Bosch process
- Also observed reacting of carbon monoxide over platinum
- Discovered moving reactions over platinum surfaces