Who Discovered Silicon Compounds And What Are They Used For?
Silicon compounds were discovered by a British chemist called Frederick Stanley Kipping, who lived between 1863 and 1949. He coined the term silicone, which is now used to describe this who class of oxygen-containing polymers. Kipping studied at Manchester University but took an external degree from London University, as Manchester was still in the process of setting itself up as a full university and it did not yet give its own degrees. Kipping worked with William Perkin and began to study organic compounds of silicon, with the purpose of finding out more about stereoisomerism, in 1899. He prepared condensation products – the first organisilicon polymers and called them silicones. He regarded these compounds as interesting, but thought of them mainly as chemical curiosities and could see no real applications for them, right up until 1937. During the second world war, however, people saw their real potential and they were used as substitutes for oils and greases. Their chemical inertne
