The Biography & Works of Nobel Prize Chemist Jacobus Henricus Van’t Hoff

Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands to Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff Sr. and Alida Kolff van’t Hoff on August 30th, 1852. He was the third of seven children. His siblings were named Herminus Johannes van’t Hoff, Hendrika Adriana van’t Hoff, Jacob Marius van’t Hoff, Cornelis van’t Hoff, Maria Margaretha van’t Hoff, and Lambertus van’t Hoff. His religion is unknown; however, during his time, the Dutch Reformation had just occurred, and because of this, the Dutch Reformed Church, along with the Catholic Church, were very popular. His father was a physician. His family was considered to be in the middle to upper class and were well respected. Van’t Hoff had a pretty typical childhood. He got along with his family well and was very successful in school.

Van’t Hoff was fortunate enough to attend Dutch-reformed Hoogere Burgerschool in Rotterdam, which was a math and science based high school. Defying his father’s wishes of him becoming a physician, van’t Hoff studied chemistry at the Technical University in Delft in 1869. He then studied math and physics at the University of Leiden. Next, he traveled to Germany to continue studying chemistry with August Kekule at the University of Bonn. Van’t Hoff then traveled to France to study chemistry with Charles-Adolphe Wurtz at the Ecole de Medicine. Van’t Hoff completed his doctoral dissertation in 1874 at the University of Utrecht.

Before completing his doctoral dissertation, van’t Hoff published his famous 11-page pamphlet discussing valence electrons in the carbon atom. His proposition was that “if the four bonds (valence electrons) of the carbon atom pointed towards the corners of a tetrahedron, it would explain many cases of isomerism” (Britannica 1), which is, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “the relation of two or more nuclides with the same mass numbers and atomic numbers but different energy states and rates of radioactive decay”. He also proposed that “if the four bonds of the carbon atom pointed towards the corners of a tetrahedron, it would explain why some solutions of certain chemical compounds would rotate a plane of polarized light”. His theory is one of the most fundamental concepts in Organic chemistry, and the foundation of Stereochemistry (the study of the three-dimensional properties of molecules). He even created 3D paper models of tetrahedral molecules to share his research with other leading chemists.

Though his pamphlet was significant to the science world, van’t Hoff’s greatest contribution is his discovery of osmotic pressure and chemical equilibrium in solutions. In 1884, van’t Hoff published his research on chemical kinetics in a book titled “Etudes de Dynamique chimique”, which translates to “Studies in Chemical Dynamics”. In this book, he described a new method for determining the order of a reaction. His method included using graphics and applying laws of thermodynamics to chemical equilibria. Van’t Hoff also studied chemical equilibrium in salts, especially salt found in Stassfurt, Germany. He published his discoveries in a 2-volume book titled “On the Formation of Oceanic Salt Deposits”.

Van’t Hoff conducted many studies to learn more about osmotic pressure. In his Nobel Prize speech, he said that “osmotic pressure is the pressure that allows water but not sugar to pass through, therefore causing the water to force its way into the solution through the membrane”. He then went to give a real-life example, which is that osmotic pressure is the reason that the sap of the oak tree “rises to the topmost twigs”. Van’t Hoff believed that osmotic pressure has been known to exist since the beginning of the 19th century but has only been the subject of precise experiments in the 20 years prior to his speech. He then referenced to the discoveries of the botanist Pfeffer who was the first to measure this pressure in 1877.

Pfeffer measured the pressure by creating a membrane that was permeable to water, impermeable to sugar, and “withstood the negligible pressure that it faced” (Assets Nobel Prize 2). Van’t Hoff then said that osmotic pressure is very important to not only animal life, but plant life; however, he thought that it is most important to chemistry. Osmotic pressure can be directly correlated to what is known as chemical affinity. Chemical affinity is “the electronic property by which dissimilar chemical species are capable of forming chemical compounds” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). An example of this, given in his speech, is the binding of water in crystallization. The force in which gypsum binds its water (crystallization) can be measured in osmotic pressure.

After publishing his own research, van’t Hoff and Wilhelm Oswald published a highly influential science magazine called “Journal of Physical Chemistry”. In 1889, he provided physical justification for the Arrhenius equation. In 1896, he became a professor at the Prussian Academy of Science in Berlin. He soon became a lecturer of chemistry and physics at the Veterinary College in Utrecht, then a professor of geology, minerology, and chemistry at the University of Amsterdam, lastly becoming a chairman of the department of chemistry. In hopes of finishing his career, van’t Hoff moved to Germany in 1896 to work at the University of Berlin until 1911, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff was known for many things, such as or his great discoveries of osmotic pressure, chemical equilibrium, and the position of valence electrons in carbon atoms. He is also known for the famous van’t Hoff equation. These discoveries led him to be the first to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1901. Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff passed away on March 1st, 1911 in Steglitz, Berlin, Germany.

Works Cited:

1. https://assets.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/hoff-lecture.pdf?_ga=2.208453842.1726437037.1538135626-1996848745.1538135626
2. 2. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacobus-Henricus-van-t-Hoff
3. 3. https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/van%27t_Hoff,_Jacobus_Hendricus
4. 4. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/chemistry-biographies/jacobus-hendricus-vant-hoff