The keVChem name originated in the late 1980s at the University of Adelaide. Here it was necessary for research students and staff to purify in-stock reagents to be used for chemical synthesis, rather than buy new reagents. When rebottled, the CI of this laboratory would attach an additional sticker with the moniker "keVChem" displayed in red. This reference was to his own name and also the term kiloelectron volt (keV) given his work in the field of mass spectrometry using instrumentation that operate with high acceleration and collision voltages and energies. The resulting reagents found their way back to the chemical store and were subsequently used by other research students and staff. Legend has it that some "keVChem" chemicals survive to this day.

About keVChem