(Louis-Marie) Hilaire Berniguad, comte de Chardonnet

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(Louis-Marie) Hilaire Berniguad, comte de Chardonnet

1839-1924

French chemist who invented rayon, the first synthetic fiber to come into common use. During a silkworm epidemic that threatened the French silk industry, Chardonnet realized there was a market for artificial silk. Expanding upon the previous work of Swiss chemist George Audemars and Sir Joseph Swan of England, Chardonnet experimented with cellulose-based fibers. He treated cotton with nitric and sulfuric acids, then dissolved the mixture in alcohol and ether, forming fibers he called rayon. His work was patented in 1884 and he began to manufacture rayon in 1891. Chardonnet went on to study several other subjects, including ultraviolet light and telephony.