Edmond Davy

Resumo

Edmund Davy (1785-1857) was a British scientist to whom we owe the discovery of acetylene (by accident), potassium carbide, the platinum sponge, the synthesis of a variety of new platinum compounds, and an electrochemical procedure for determining small amounts of platinum. He carried an extensive research on platinum and its derivatives; in particular, he studied the reaction of platinum with hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, chlorine, and phosphine, the preparation and properties of simple salts of platinum such as platinum sulfate, and the triple salts of platinum with potassium, sodium, ammonium, aluminum, and barium. Davy also studied the preparation and properties of the fulminates of platinum and silver, and developed a new electrochemical analytical procedure for detecting the presence of arsenic(II) and arsenic(III) oxides.