Richard Wolffenstein (21 August 1864 – 5 June 1926) was a German chemist. He discovered acetone peroxide in 1895 by reacting acetone with hydrogen peroxide. The Wolffenstein-Böters reaction, which he discovered in 1913, was an alternative production method for explosives.

Biography

Wolffenstein studied in Leipzig, Heidelberg, Munich and Berlin. He was awarded his doctor title in 1888, and became an assistant at the veterinary hochschule in Berlin, and later in Breslau under Albert Ladenburg. In 1893, he returned to the Technische Hochschule, now called Technische Universität Berlin, where he gained his habilitation in 1895 and became professor of chemistry in 1921.