The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-11-03
PRIEST FINDS
CHEMICALS TO
MAKE RUBBER
Notre Dame Man Accredited
With Discovery of Long
Sought Formula.
DU POINT TAKES 1T OVER
Successful SyntheSiS Fruit
of IS Years Spent in
Research Work.
By Times Special

By Times Special
SOUTH BEND, Ind, Nov. s.
Perfection of synthetic rubber, to be
marketed at a fraction over the &C
tual current market quotation, has
been announced by a quiet Notre
Dame priest. the Rev. Julius Arthur
Nieuwland, So, who for a quarter of
a century, has worked on the revo-
lutionary discovery in his campus
laboratory.
Father Nieuwland for years has
been an outstanding student of
acetylene reactions. In 1906 he
came upon the component parts of
synthetic rubber by passing aOety-
lene into a solution of copper and
ammonium chlorideS. The chemical
reaction that took place produced
gas.
In 1920, after working diligently
on the discovery for fourteen years,
Father Nieuwland was able to alter
the composition to form an oil in
addition to the gas. A year later,
that oil was determined to be divinyl
acetylene, the material from which
rubber is Synthetized.
Used Vulcanizing Agent
Father Nieuwland's ultimate goal
still vas far away, however, but in
1923 DR.. R. r. Vogt, an assistant
to the priest-chemist, working as a
research engineer in the Notre
Dame chemistry department, treat
ed divinyl acetylene with a vulca-
nizing agent and produced a highly
elastic material. Hidden in the
qualities of these acetylene develop
mentS was the formula for rubber.
The E. 1. Dupont De NemourS &
Co. of Delaware, keeping in close
touch with Father NieuWland'S de-
velopments, determined that divinyl
acetylene contained the possibilities
for revolutionizing the rubber in
dustry, and all industries that de-
pended on rubber either as a raw
material or the finished product.
Arrangements were made for the
Dupont company to take over the
development of Father Neiuwland's
compound. In their subsequent ex-
perimentS, they succeeded in pro-
ducing rubber from divinyl acety-
lene, but found that it did not re-
tain elasticity long enough to make
a successful commercial product.
Went Back to Gas
After that discovery, science again
went back to the gas which Father
Nieuwland first discovered, in 1906
during his first experiments and
produced a competent called
Cuprene. When this was treated
with suitable reagents it polymer-
lied to form synthetic rubber.
The Cuprene compound, for trade
purposes, will be known as Duprene.
This is the synthetic rubber. 1t has
the elasticity, the feel and the APP
pearances of real rubber and it is
said the resemblance is so close that
the synthetic rubber IAN not be dis
tinguished from the natural by a
casual observer.
The new synthetic rubber product,
it is claimed, may be vulcanized to
any degree of hardness and may be
fabricated into any desired Shape.
Producers declare that it actually is
superior to the natural product,
since it al stand heat much better
and show a greater resistance to
the deteriorating action of oils and
greaSeS.
Price Much Lower
Taken from a commercial point
of view, the synthetic rubber will it
is expected, be slightly more ex-
pensiye to produce than natural
rubber, although far less expensive
than the golden rod rubber" pro-
duced by the later Thomas Alva
Edison. Announcements from the
Edison laboratories indicated that
the golden rod rubber" would re-
tail at 81 a pound. Duprene, on the
other hand, will sell at a cost slight
ly above the current market price
of 5 cents a pound.
1oSAACA dllllOSI 10 dS re-
noWned a botanist as he is a chem
iSt. In early days at Notre Dame
he taught botany classes and for
several years was dean of science.
resigned his botany professor
ship to devote all his attention to
chemistry.
He founded and still is editor of
the Midland Naturalist, journal de-
voted to natural history. Among
more important contributions to
chemistry is the discovery of the
formula for the deadly Lewisite gas
he made while working on his the
sis for a doctorate of philosophy at
Catholic university, Washington,
D. G. The formula was developed
the World war as a combat
ant agent.
Order to Benefit
Father Nieuwland's discovery of
synthetic rubber, which would mean
a fortune to another man, will not
enrich the priest a penny. As a
priest in the Roman Catholic con-
gregation of the Holy Cross, what
accrues from his discovery will
go to the order because Of his or
dination VOW Of poverty.