Pierre-François Chabaneau
Encyclopedia
Pierre-François Chabaneau was a French
chemist who spent much of his life working in Spain. He was one of the first chemists to succeed in producing malleable platinum
. Chabaneau was born in Dordogne
, France
, in 1754, and died near his home village in 1842 at the age of 88 years.
, a village in the Dordogne
department of France
. His uncle, a member of the order of Saint Anthony
, encouraged him to study theology. While Chabaneau excelled in his studies, his distaste for metaphysical speculation
led him to antagonize his teachers, which in turn caused him to be expelled from school.
Sympathetic towards Chabaneau's state of poverty, the director of a Jesuit college in Passy
offered him a position as a mathematics professor, despite Chabaneau having only a basic understanding of arithmetic. In studying the material for the next day's lessons, Chabaneau taught himself algebra and geometry. His academic interest soon spread to physics, natural history
, and chemistry. At the age of twenty, Chabaneau was convinced to join the newly-established Real Seminario Patriotico at Vergara
to teach French and physics by brothers Fausto
and Juan José Elhuyar
. The two brothers, who later made a name for themselves by isolating metallic tungsten
, were the sons of the Count of Peñaflorida, who had sent them to France to find professors for the Vergara Seminary.
. This did not last long, though, as the brothers had been appointed Directors General of Mining, and soon left Spain for South America. King Charles III
created a public chair of mineralogy, physics and chemistry for Chabaneau in Madrid and provided him with a laboratory for his research. The Count d'Aranda secured the government's entire supply of platinum for Chabaneau's laboratory.
Chabaneau was able to easily remove most of platinum's natural impurities, including gold, mercury
, lead, copper, and iron, leading him to believe that he was working with pure platinum. However, the metal displayed inconsistent characteristics. At times it was malleable, yet at times it was highly brittle
. Sometimes it was entirely incombustible, yet sometimes it burned readily. These inconsistencies were a result of various impurities: rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and ruthenium. These elements would later come to be known as the platinum group
metals, but at the time of Chabaneau's research, they had not yet been discovered.
So frustrated was Chabaneau by his research that, in 1786, he lost his temper and smashed all of his equipment, exclaiming, "Away with it all! I'll smash the whole business; you shall never again get me to touch the damned metal!" Nevertheless, three months later Chabaneau presented the Count d'Aranda with a 10 cm cube of pure malleable platinum. His process, involving powder metallurgy and intense heating, was kept secret until 1914.
s of malleable platinum were produced in a span of 22 years. The platinum age ended in 1808 when Chabaneau's laboratory was destroyed during Napoleon's second invasion
.
In 1799, Chabaneau returned to France seeking rest near his native village of Nontron. There he remained until January 1842, when he died at the age of 88 years.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
chemist who spent much of his life working in Spain. He was one of the first chemists to succeed in producing malleable platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
. Chabaneau was born in Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in 1754, and died near his home village in 1842 at the age of 88 years.
Early life
Chabaneau was born in 1754 in NontronNontron
Nontron is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-History:According to the historian Ribault de Laugardière, the name Nontron derives from the Tyrian language, from Nata and Dun...
, a village in the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
department of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His uncle, a member of the order of Saint Anthony
Order of Saint Anthony (Bavaria)
The Order of Saint Anthony was a Bavarian military order founded in 1382 by Duke Albert of Bavaria.Albert, who had publicly resolved to war against the Turks, re-established this French order to aid in fulfillment of his oath....
, encouraged him to study theology. While Chabaneau excelled in his studies, his distaste for metaphysical speculation
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
led him to antagonize his teachers, which in turn caused him to be expelled from school.
Sympathetic towards Chabaneau's state of poverty, the director of a Jesuit college in Passy
Passy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
offered him a position as a mathematics professor, despite Chabaneau having only a basic understanding of arithmetic. In studying the material for the next day's lessons, Chabaneau taught himself algebra and geometry. His academic interest soon spread to physics, natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, and chemistry. At the age of twenty, Chabaneau was convinced to join the newly-established Real Seminario Patriotico at Vergara
Bergara
Bergara is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the north of Spain.An Enlightened center of education operated by the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País , it was the place where Faustino Elhuyar discovered wolfram.During the Carlist...
to teach French and physics by brothers Fausto
Fausto Elhuyar
Fausto de Elhuyar was a Spanish chemist, and the joint discoverer of tungsten with his brother Juan José Elhuyar in 1783. Fausto de Elhuyar was in charge, under a King of Spain commission, of organizing the School of Mines in México City and so was responsible of building an architectural jewel...
and Juan José Elhuyar
Juan José Elhuyar
Juan José Elhuyar Lubize was a Spanish chemist and mineralogist, the joint discoverer of tungsten with his brother Fausto Elhuyar in 1783....
. The two brothers, who later made a name for themselves by isolating metallic tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
, were the sons of the Count of Peñaflorida, who had sent them to France to find professors for the Vergara Seminary.
Platinum research
After the Elhuyar brothers isolated metallic tungsten in 1783, Chabaneau collaborated with them in researching platinumPlatinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
. This did not last long, though, as the brothers had been appointed Directors General of Mining, and soon left Spain for South America. King Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
created a public chair of mineralogy, physics and chemistry for Chabaneau in Madrid and provided him with a laboratory for his research. The Count d'Aranda secured the government's entire supply of platinum for Chabaneau's laboratory.
Chabaneau was able to easily remove most of platinum's natural impurities, including gold, mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, lead, copper, and iron, leading him to believe that he was working with pure platinum. However, the metal displayed inconsistent characteristics. At times it was malleable, yet at times it was highly brittle
Brittle
A material is brittle if, when subjected to stress, it breaks without significant deformation . Brittle materials absorb relatively little energy prior to fracture, even those of high strength. Breaking is often accompanied by a snapping sound. Brittle materials include most ceramics and glasses ...
. Sometimes it was entirely incombustible, yet sometimes it burned readily. These inconsistencies were a result of various impurities: rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and ruthenium. These elements would later come to be known as the platinum group
Platinum group
The platinum group metals is a term used sometimes to collectively refer to six metallic elements clustered together in the periodic table.These elements are all transition metals, lying in the d-block .The six...
metals, but at the time of Chabaneau's research, they had not yet been discovered.
So frustrated was Chabaneau by his research that, in 1786, he lost his temper and smashed all of his equipment, exclaiming, "Away with it all! I'll smash the whole business; you shall never again get me to touch the damned metal!" Nevertheless, three months later Chabaneau presented the Count d'Aranda with a 10 cm cube of pure malleable platinum. His process, involving powder metallurgy and intense heating, was kept secret until 1914.
Platinum age and death
Chabaneau realized that the sheer difficulty of working with platinum would lend value to objects made from it. He and Don Joaquín Cabezas carried on a lucrative business producing platinum ingots and utensils. This marked the beginning of what is now known as the "platinum age in Spain," during which nearly 18,000 troy ounceTroy ounce
The troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight of precious metals. One troy ounce is nowadays defined as exactly 0.0311034768 kg = 31.1034768 g. There are approximately 32.1507466 troy oz in 1 kg...
s of malleable platinum were produced in a span of 22 years. The platinum age ended in 1808 when Chabaneau's laboratory was destroyed during Napoleon's second invasion
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
In 1799, Chabaneau returned to France seeking rest near his native village of Nontron. There he remained until January 1842, when he died at the age of 88 years.