He showed, among other things, that the formulas of many cobalt(III) and chromium(III) compounds can be understood if the metal has six ligands in an octahedral geometry.
Muuhulgas tõestas ta, et paljude koobalt(III)- ja kroom(III)ühendite valemid muutuvad arusaadavaks, kui arvestada, et metallil on oktaeedrilises paigutuses kuus ligandi.