Wilhelm Schlenk

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Wilhelm Johann Schlenk
Born	March 22, 1879(1879-03-22) Munich, Germany
Died	April 29, 1943 (aged 64) Tübingen, Germany
Institutions	University of Munich, University of Jena, University of Vienna, University of Berlin, University of Tübingen
Alma mater	University of Munich
Doctoral advisor	Oskar Piloty
Doctoral students	Herman Mark Fritz Feigl
Known for	Schlenk flask Schlenk line

Wilhelm Johann Schlenk (March 22, 1879 – April 29, 1943) was a German chemist. He was born in Munich and also studied chemistry there.

Schlenk was an organic chemist who discovered organolithium compounds around 1917. He also investigated free radicals and carbanions and discovered (together with his son) that organomagnesium halides are capable of participating in a complex chemical equilibrium, now known as a Schlenk equilibrium.

Today Schlenk is remembered mostly for developing techniques to handle air-sensitive compounds, and for his invention of the Schlenk flask. The latter is a reaction vessel with a glass or Teflon tap for the addition and removal of gases, such as nitrogen or argon. He is also known for the Schlenk line, a double manifold incorporating a vacuum system and a gas line joined by double oblique taps that allow the user to switch between vacuum and gas for the manipulation of air-sensitive compounds.

[edit] For further reading

Morawetz, Herbert (1996). "Herman Francis Mark". Biographical Memoirs 68: 195–208.
Sella, Andrea (January 2008). "Schlenk Apparatus". Chemistry World: 69.
Tidwell, Thomas (2001). "Wilhelm Schlenk: The Man Behind the Flask". Angewandte Chemie International Edition 40: 331–337. doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20010119)40:2<331::AID-ANIE331>3.0.CO;2-E.