The Discovery of Substances over the History of Chemistry

Project Description

How did the chemical space, the vast collection of known substances and reactions, evolve over the past two centuries? The project explores the evolution of chemical knowledge as a dynamic interplay of people, materials, and language.

Using large-scale digital data from databases like Reaxys and OpenAlex, the project traces the historical expansion of chemistry through three interconnected dimensions: material, social, and semiotic. The material dimension encompasses the substances, reactions, and technologies that shaped chemical practice. The social dimension concerns the institutions, nations, and networks that drove discovery. The semiotic dimension incorporates the language, journals, patents, and naming conventions that communicated and codified chemical knowledge.

By analysing millions of chemical records from 1800 to 2023, the project explores how the very structure of chemistry as a discipline evolved over time, and how wars, economic crises, or political shifts have shaped chemical knowledge and its dissemination.

Project Duration

since 2026

Funded by

German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)

Individual Research Grant Recipient

Dr. Guillermo Restrepo