Prev. Article Next Article Table of Contents

Article

Mustard Gas: Its Pre-World War I History

Citing Articles

Your current credentials do not allow retrieval of the full text.

Purchase the full-text

PDF/HTML,
figures/images,
references and tables,
(where available)

Ronald J. Duchovic

Department of Chemistry, Indiana University Purdue University, Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499

Joel A. Vilensky

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499

J. Chem. Educ., 2007, 84 (6), p 944

DOI: 10.1021/ed084p944

Publication Date (Web): June 1, 2007

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

Mustard gas is perhaps the best-known chemical warfare agent and is commonly associated with World War I, both in its first use in warfare and its first synthesis. Although the former is correct, the latter is not. We review here the history of the repeated synthesis of mustard gas by 19th century European chemists. The techniques developed by these chemists were the ones relied upon by both the Central Powers and the Allies to manufacture this agent during World War I. Further, a historical review of mustard gas synthesis highlights the increasing sophistication of the chemical sciences. In particular, during the latter half of the 19th century, the concepts of atomic mass, chemical periodicity, and chemical structure underwent a rapid development that culminated in the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry in the 20th century. A comparison is made of the molecular formula for mustard gas from the 19th century with that of the 21st century, demonstrating that the concept of atomic mass has undergone significant refinement over this period of time.

Keywords (Audience):

General Public

Keywords (Domain):

History / Philosophy

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Textbooks / Reference Books

Keywords (Subject):

Applications of Chemistry

View: Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links

Citing Articles

View all 2 citing articles

Citation data is made available by participants in CrossRef's Cited-by Linking service. For a more comprehensive list of citations to this article, users are encouraged to perform a search in SciFinder.

This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

Synthesis and Reactivity of Sulfur(II) Dications Stabilized Using Monodentate Ligands
Caleb D. Martin and Paul J. Ragogna
Inorganic Chemistry2010 49 (17), 8164-8172
- Synthesis and Reactivity of Sulfur(II) Dications Stabilized Using Monodentate Ligands
  Caleb D. Martin and Paul J. Ragogna
  Inorganic Chemistry2010 49 (17), 8164-8172
  The stoichiometric 1:2:2 reaction of SCl2, trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, and pyridine produced sulfur(II) dications featuring two pyridine donors. The complexes were reacted with unsaturated organic substrates, which displayed addition with ...
  Abstract | Full Text HTML | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
Weapons of Mass Destruction: It Is All about Chemistry
Jessica Epstein
Journal of Chemical Education2009 86 (12), 1377
- Weapons of Mass Destruction: It Is All about Chemistry
  Jessica Epstein
  Journal of Chemical Education2009 86 (12), 1377
  Discussion about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has increased since so many saw the World Trade Towers collapse. The term evokes anxiety, political debate, and ethical concerns. But, what are WMD and how do the work? The topics involved with WMD touch ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links