Schlenk apparatus
Wilhelm Johann Schlenk, the German chemist who prepared some of the first organosodium and organolithium compounds, and developed the inert-atmosphere techniques now common in many labs
The techniques came from an ambitious young German chemist, Wilhelm Johann Schlenk (1879–1943). Fresh from his PhD and a short spell in industry, Schlenk obtained a junior position in Munich in 1906 and chose to work on one of the most exciting problems of the day: investigating the recently proposed triphenylmethyl radical. By making very stable crystalline para-substituted phenyl derivatives, Schlenk proved the radical’s existence. He then isolated a series of stable radicals, and also Beckmann’s benzophenone ketyl. By now a chemist with recognised talent, Schlenk went on to prepare organosodium and the first organolithium compounds, isolated the first metal enolate and was nominated for the Nobel prize, though he didn’t win it.