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The process of the discovery of the sixth new element and metal present in raw platinum ore granules, and called vestium or ruthenium, took place between 1807 and 1844. The element was first discovered by the Polish chemist and medical doctor, J?drzej ?niadecki, professor at Vilnius University, presently Lithuania. It took almost 40 years to confirm the discovery by two German chemists working in Russia, Gottfried Osann and Carl Ernst Claus, who had at their disposition platinum ore recently discovered in the Ural Mountains. The discovery work of J?drzej ?niadecki was supported by his older brother Jan ?niadecki, a noted mathematician and astronomer, who was also the Rector of Vilnius University at the time of the original discovery. ?niadecki brothers were educated in Poland (Pozna? and Cracow) and abroad: J?drzejin Pavia (Italy), Edinburgh (Scotland) and Vienna, and Janin Göttingen, Leiden, Utrecht and prerevolutionary Paris.

Abstract  Naphthalene and alkylnaphthalenes are electro-oxidized to give many products, of which 1,4-naphthoquinones and binaphthyls are the most stable, especially in the case of substrates, which are not substituted in α-positions. On the other hand, α-substituted naphthalenes give the respective naphthoquinols as the main products. Interestingly, 1,2-naphthoquinones are not separated as products, instead, a fragmentation of one of the rings leads to oxidation products, in which the 1,2-bond in naphthalene is broken to form dialdehydes or diketones. An anodic formation of binaphthyls is described, starting from alkyl-substituted naphthalenes, dissolved in acetone-water (1:1 v/v) and using 0.1 M (CH3)4N(BF4) supporting electrolyte. Several isomeric binaphthyls were obtained depending on the substrates. The structure of the binaphthyls formed is discussed based on molecular orbital calculations using the AM1 program. Cyclic voltammetric oxidation curves are shown for naphthalene and three methyl derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]