Synthesis

Name:
Synthesis
Detailed information:
Creation of a substance that either duplicates a natural product or is a unique material not found in nature, by means of one or more chemical reactions, or (for elements) by a nuclear change. High temperature and pressures as well as a catalyst are usually required. Though syntheses are more readily achieved with organic compounds because of the great versatility of the carbon atom, extremely important syntheses of inorganic compounds were made in the early years of chemistry. A list of noteworthy syntheses with approximate dates would include the following:
Inorganic		Organic
sulfuric acid		urea (Wohler)	1828
(chamber)	1746	mauveine (Perkin)	1857
(contact)	1890	Celluloid (Hyatt)	1869
soda ash (LeBlanc)	1800	ethylbenzene
(Solvay)	1861	(Friedel Crafts)	1877
ammonia		rayon
(Haber-Bosch)	1912	(Chardonnet)	1884
plutonium	1940	phenolic resins
		(Baekeland)	1910
		neoarsphenamine
		(Ehrlich)	1910
		aldehydes, alcohols
		(Oxo synthesis)	1920
		methanol	1927
		neoprene
		(Nieuwland)	1930
		nylon (Carothers)	1935
		SBR rubber	1940
		polyisoprene	1950
The tremendous proliferation of synthetic materials in recent years, especially in the high-polymer field, was made possible by the increasingly sophisticated use of catalysts, particularly the Ziegler and Natta stereospecific type.Synthesis of elements has also occurred; since 1940 all the transuranic elements from 93 to 106, as well as a vast array of radioisotopes of natural elements, have been created by nuclear bombardment of various types.See Resin, Synthetic; Semisynthetic.