Gerhard Ertl

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Gerhard Ertl
Martin Wolf

Gerhard Ertl (German pronunciation:

surface chemistry
, which has helped explain how fuel cells produce energy without pollution, how catalytic converters clean up car exhausts and even why iron rusts, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

His work has paved the way for development of cleaner energy sources and will guide the development of fuel cells, said Astrid Graslund, secretary of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

He was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces. The Nobel academy said Ertl provided a detailed description of how chemical reactions take place on surfaces. His findings applied in both academic studies and industrial development, the academy said. “Surface chemistry can even explain the destruction of the ozone layer, as vital steps in the reaction actually take place on the surfaces of small crystals of ice in the stratosphere,” the award citation reads.

In 2015, Ertl signed the

COP21 climate summit in Paris.[2]

Biography

Ertl was born in

Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart to Munich and received his PhD degree from the Technical University of Munich
in 1965.

Academic career

After completing his PhD, he became an assistant and lecturer at Technical University of Munich (1965–1968).[3] From 1968 to 1973, he was Professor and Director at Technical University of Hannover; then, he became a professor at Institute for Physical Chemistry, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (1973–1986).[3] During the 1970s and 80s, he was also a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology (1976–1977), the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1979) and the University of California, Berkeley (1981–82).[3]

He became the director at the

Technical University of Berlin, and in 1996 at the Humboldt University of Berlin.[3]

From 2008 to 2016, Ertl served as a member of the university council of Technische Universität Darmstadt.[5][6]

Research

Gerhard Ertl is known for determining the detailed molecular mechanisms of the catalytic synthesis of

Haber Bosch process) and the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide over platinum (catalytic converter
). During his research he discovered the important phenomenon of oscillatory reactions on platinum surfaces and, using photoelectron microscopy, was able to image for the first time, the oscillating changes in surface structure and coverage that occur during reaction.

He always used new observation techniques like low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) at the beginning of his career, later ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and scanning tunneling microscope (STM) yielding ground breaking results. He won the

Gabor A. Somorjai of the University of California, Berkeley for "their outstanding contributions to the field of the surface science in general and for their elucidation of fundamental mechanisms of heterogeneous catalytic reactions at single crystal surface in particular."[7]

Gerhard Ertl was awarded the 2007

SEK 10 million (US$1.7 million, £1.15 million), was announced on Ertl's 71st birthday.[8][9] "I am speechless", Ertl told Associated Press from his office in Berlin. "I was not counting on this."[10]

As of November 2022[update], Ertl has an h-index of 124 according to Scopus.[11]

Personal life

Ertl and his wife Barbara have two children and several grandchildren. His hobbies include playing the piano and also playing with his cats when he is not doing experiments. He identifies as Christian.[12]

Publications

Ertl, Gerhard (2023). My Life with Science. Berlin: GNT-Verlag.

ISBN 978-3-86225-131-5
.

Ertl is one of the editors of the Handbook of Heterogeneous Catalysis. (

ISBN 978-3-527-31241-2
)

Ertl is the co-editor of Engineering Of Chemical Complexity. 2013, World Scientific Publishing. (

ISBN 978-981-4390-45-3
)

References

  1. ^ Laureates of the Japan Prize. japanprize.jp
  2. ^ "Mainau Declaration". www.mainaudeclaration.org. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl". Max Planck Society. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  4. doi:10.1021/jp049239i
    . Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  5. ^ "Chemie-Nobelpreisträger Ertl und Uni-Rektor Winckler neu im Hochschulrat der TU Darmstadt". idw (in German). Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  6. ^ "TU Darmstadt magazine, hoch3 2016, p. 17" (PDF). Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  7. ^ "The 2008 Wolf Foundation Prize in Chemistry". Wolf Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  8. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007" (Press release). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 10 October 2007.
  9. ^ "Nobel for ozone layer scientist". CNN. Associated Press. 11 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  10. ^ Karl Ritter (11 October 2007). "German receives chemistry Nobel". Worcester Telegram. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  11. ^ "Scopus preview – Hartl, Franz Ulrich – Author details – Scopus". www.scopus.com. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  12. ^ Till Weishaupt (December 2007). "Glauben Sie an Gott?". Cicero. Retrieved 3 September 2014. Translated from German: Oh, yes, I believe in God. (...) I am a Christian and I try to live as a Christian (...) I read the Bible very often and I try to understand it.

External links

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