A EVOLUÇÃO DOS REAGENTES QUÍMICOS COMERCIAIS ATRAVÉS DOS RÓTULOS E FRASCOS

A EVOLUÇÃO DOS REAGENTES QUÍMICOS COMERCIAIS ATRAVÉS DOS RÓTULOS E FRASCOS
Júlio Carlos Afonso* e Renata de Melo Aguiar
Departamento de Química Analítica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CP 68563,
21949-900 Rio de Janeiro - RJ
Recebido em 21/7/03; aceito em 5/1/04; publicado na web em 17/6/04

Assuntos Gerais

Quim. Nova, Vol. 27, No. 5, 837-844, 2004

THE EVOLUTION OF COMMERCIAL CHEMICALS VIA THEIR LABELS AND CONTAINERS. This work presents an evolution profile of labels and containers of commercial chemicals employed in laboratories since 1870. Most chemicals were made in Germany before the Second World War, after which many other manufacturers arrived on the Brazilian market. Northamerican products were dominant in the 1940s, but Brazilian chemicals have increased their participation along time. Labels presented increasingly more information, from originally simple names of the compounds at the beginning of the XXth century to the data presented today such as chemical formulae, safety regards and detailed chemical analysis. The raw material for container manufacturing also changed: glass was dominant until the 1950s, but nowadays plastic flasks are preferred whenever possible.
Cork covers were replaced by screw caps. The diversity of commercial products also sharply increased with time, especially after the 1950s, following the many new and specific applications of chemicals for research and commercial purposes.
Keywords: laboratory chemicals; reagent evolution; containers’ labels.

INTRODUÇÃO
Embora o uso de produtos químicos date das antigas civilizações, o surgimento da indústria química moderna é muito mais recente, pois é somente com o advento da I Revolução Industrial, por volta de 1800, que começou o provimento sistemático de produtos químicos para outras indústrias: álcali para fazer sabão, carbonato de sódio e sílica para manufatura de vidro, dentre outros exemplos1.
A noção de qualidade de um