Über den Einfluß äußerer Magnetfelder auf die Aktivität ferromagnetischer Katalysatoren
J.A. Hedvall has discovered “internal” magneto-catalytic effects; the activity of ferromagnetic catalyst changes upon transgressing the Curie-interval. The present publication deals with finding an “external” magneto-catalytic effect consisting of the influence of external magnetic fields upon the activity of ferromagnetic catalysts. This can be shown quite clearly in capillaries of high purity ferromagnetic nickel by experiments applying the o-p-hydrogen conversion. In this reaction the conversion rises so steeply with relatively low field strengths that even the magnetic earth field should enhance the catalytic activity of nickel in compact form; a few hundred oersted may suffice for doubling the conversion and at some 1000 or 10.000 oersted a saturation value of the conversion is reached. The connection between catalytic activity and magnetism finds further support by a corresponding catalytic retentivity.From the theory of ferromagnetism, especially the studies of Néel, it is known that extremely small ferromagnetic particles of the order of magnitude of Blochs walls, i. e. some 10—4 mm, posses high permanent magnetism. This fact appears significant in this connection for the high catalytic activity of finely divided powder catalysts such as Raney catalysts. This permanent magnetism explains also the apparent lack of the external magneto-catalytic effect when using a nickel powder catalyst. The theoretical treatment of the results cannot yet give a definite explanation; before this can be given the experiments must be extended to ordinary chemical reactions. To this end the prerequisits for such experiments are being established.Independently thereof the experimental proof for the external catalytic effect serves to ascertain that the internal Hedvall effects are primarily correlated to the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states of matter.