Volkov, Aleksei Alekseevich

Born Jan. 3 (15), 1863, in St. Petersburg; died there Nov. 29 (Dec. 12), 1903. Russian chemist.

Volkov graduated from the University of St. Petersburg in 1885. From 1888 through 1902 he worked there as a laboratory assistant of D. I. Mendeleev; in 1902 he began lecturing on chemistry in the economics division of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. In 1889 he demonstrated that pure monoatomic alcohols do not decompose when heated to 200°-300° C. If a minute quantity of methyl iodide or hydrogen halide acids is introduced, secondary and tertiary alcohols yield ethylene hydrocarbons and water and primary alcohols yield ethers and water. Volkov discovered a method for obtaining saturated hydrocarbons by the action of magnesium on an alcohol solution of their iodine derivatives (this discovery was made with B. N. Menshutkin) as well as by the action of zinc dust and water on their halogen derivatives.