Charles Sauria
Encyclopedia
Marc Charles Sauria was a French chemist credited for inventing phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

-based match
Match
A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...

es in 1830–1831.

Several events are believed to have led Sauria to his discovery, including the hydrogen lighter introduced in 1827 by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
- External links :* from the American Chemical Society* from the Encyclopædia Britannica, 10th Edition * , Paris...

 and the demonstration by his chemistry professor Nicolet where a powder mixture of potassium chlorate
Potassium chlorate
Potassium chlorate is a compound containing potassium, chlorine and oxygen atoms, with the molecular formula KClO3. In its pure form, it is a white crystalline substance. It is the most common chlorate in industrial use...

 and sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

 was detonated by a blow. During a long series of experiments, Sauria went on to add white phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

 that helped ignite the mixture by friction. He finalized the invention by adding gum arabic
Gum arabic
220px|thumb|right|Acacia gumGum arabic, also known as acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal...

 to hold the powders together, and dipping pieces of wood into it.

Sauria was a poor student at the time; however, Nicolet communicated his invention to German industrialist Friedrich Kammerer who had patented it and used it in mass production of matches. The British chemist John Walker
John Walker (inventor)
John Walker was an English chemist who invented the friction match.-Life and work:Walker was born in Stockton-on-Tees in 1781. He went to the local grammar school and was afterwards apprenticed to Watson Alcock, the principal surgeon of the town serving him as an assistant-surgeon...

 had introduced a very similar match some five years earlier, where he used antimony sulfide
Antimony sulfide
Antimony sulfide may refer to either of the following:*Stibnite, Sb2S3*Antimony pentasulfide, Sb2S5...

 instead of white phosphorus. However, the phosphorus matches became more popular, mostly because of the reduced smell of sulfur, and quickly replaced those made by Walker. Around the time of Sauria's death, some 3 trillion of white phosphorus matches per year were produced worldwide. However, white phosphorus was soon proven to be toxic and banned by the international Berne Convention
Berne Convention (1906)
The Berne Convention of 1906 is an international treaty negotiated in Bern in Switzerland which prohibits the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. The treaty also prohibits the import and sale of such matches....

in 1906.
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