A Visit with Analytical Chemists in the People's During the first two weeks of J u n e , 1980, I visited the People's Republic of China with a group of administrators and faculty from Seton Hall University. An invitation to visit China h a d been extended to Seton Hall by W u h a n University, so t h a t the two institutions could work out an exchange agreement. Our itinerary, arranged through the Chinese Ministry of Education, also included an extended stay in Beijing, where several Seton Hall s t u d e n t s are studying at the Institute of Foreign Languages. Members of the delegation also visited several other cities, such as Guangzhou (formerly C a n t o n ) , Tianjin, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. During this trip, I m a d e a special effort to meet with analytical chemists. It proved possible for me to visit with the members of the analytical chemistry groups at W u h a n , Beijing, and N a n k a i Universities, three of the 11 key universities administered by the federal government in China. T h e R E P O R T t h a t follows gives my impressions of these three universities, their faculties, students, and ins t r u m e n t a t i o n . It cannot provide a complete picture of academic analytical chemistry in the People's Republic since I had no opportunity to visit any of the numerous specialized technical institutes, many of which have a high s t a n d a r d of analytical research, or any of the h u n d r e d s of colleges and universities administered at the provincial level. It does, however, give an overview of the type of work being done at universities comparable in prestige in China to the best universities in the U.S. In the process of preparing this article, I have tried to include specific information about the faculty m e m b e r s I met, their research and teaching interests, and the analytical i n s t r u m e n t s made in the People's Republic. I hope this will give you a better insight into what some of your c o u n t e r p a r t s in t h a t country are doing. Wuhan W u h a n is an industrial city of more t h a n three million people. It is located a b o u t 750 km west of Shanghai at the
The author and some new aquaintances confluence of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) and the H a n Shui (Han River), one of its main tributaries, and is the capital of Hubei Province. It was formed out of three cities—Hankou and Hanyang to the west astride the H a n , and Wuchang to the east of the Chang Jiang. W u h a n University (Wuhan Daxue) is located on the Luojia Hill overlooking the E a s t Lake in the Wuchang p a r t of t h e city. It was founded in 1913, initially to train teachers, but it became a comprehensive university in 1928. It currently has 15 d e p a r t m e n t s , divided between the sciences and arts, 1600 faculty (about 850 with status comparable to t h e s t a n d a r d faculty ranks in the U.S., the rest holding positions as research or teaching assist a n t s ) , and about 4000 students. Most of the s t u d e n t s are undergraduates, g r a d u a t e work having been resumed only in the past few years following the end of the Cultural Revolution and the rule of the Gang of Four. T h e chemistry d e p a r t m e n t at W u h a n University has some 300 facul-
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ty and staff and 500 students. All of the basic fields of chemistry are offered and there are special research groups in areas such as boron chemistry and electrochemistry. T h e analytical chemistry section has 50 faculty and staff, including a professor, two associate professors, and 13 lecturers, and 30 undergradu a t e a n d seven graduate students. Professor Zeng Yun-e is head of this section. His research interests are centered on the lanthanide elements; he is using UV-visible emission and absorption spectroscopy, X-ray spectrometry, and chemical reagents for the determination of these elements in ores and alloys. I should note t h a t the lant h a n i d e s are not at all rare in China, and they were the center of substantial research programs at all three universities I visited. T h e analytical section has particularly strong groups in spectroscopy and in electrochemistry. In the former area the emphasis is primarily on atomic spectrometry. I saw several high quality emission spectrometers 0003-2700/80/A351-1374$01.00/0 © 1980 American Chemical Society
Report Roland F. Hirsch Chemistry Department Seton Hall University South Orange, N.J. 07079
Republic of China
microscopy laboratory. Lack of time prevented me from obtaining more information on t h e work being done in these labs. W u h a n University is in t h e midst of a substantial expansion t h a t will bring its s t u d e n t body above 6000 by 1985. T h e analytical chemistry group will undoubtedly share in this expansion as it is involved in many areas t h a t are of great practical importance.
Beijing
being used to study lanthanide impurities in ores a n d alloys. A locally built, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) coupled with a 1-m grating spectrograph m a d e in Beijing was being applied to determination of trace metal impurities in water a n d aerosol samples. One of t h e lecturers in this area, Tiang Zhu Tzen, is currently studying with Professor V. Fassel a t Iowa S t a t e University. T h e r e was also a n AA spectrometer, model WYZ-401, which was measuring P b , Cr, a n d Cd in water a t t h e 0.1 p p b level using a graphite furnace. A material t h a t is of considerable interest t o t h e Chinese analytical chemists I m e t is t h e n a t u r a l lacquer used on woods and artwork. One of the labs in W u h a n h a d a Shimadzu UV-300 spectrometer equipped for derivative spectrometry. Among t h e problems being studied with this ins t r u m e n t were t h e determination of phenols in lacquer a n d the measurem e n t of enzymes present in cured lacquers. T h e electroanalytical group is under
the direction of associate professor Chao tsao-fang. Among his interests is the graphical presentation of equilibrium a n d quantitative data, a n d he gave me some chart papers he had designed for plotting equilibrium d a t a and for solving s t a n d a r d addition problems, as well as articles on t h e use of Gran's method for titrations. T h e d e p a r t m e n t has several instrum e n t s for modern voltammetry, including a pulse polarograph (model J M J 1 ) made in W u h a n , single sweep oscillographic polarographs (model JP-1A) m a d e in Sichuan province, a n d a Radiometer P04 Polariter. Many m e t h o d s have been developed for use by industry, such as for determination of R h a n d P t in ores a n d Co and Cr in water. Using catalytic polarographic methods, the detection limits obtained in this laboratory were a b o u t 0.1 ng/mL for P t a n d Cr and 0.05 n g / m L for R h a n d Co. T h e analytical section also has several GC laboratories, with special emphasis on n a t u r a l lacquer analysis, an X-ray diffraction laboratory, a n d a
Beijing, t h e capital city of the People's Republic, is located in t h e northeastern p a r t of China. In addition to being t h e political center of t h e country, a n d a m a g n e t for tourists, Beijing is t h e home of numerous key universities a n d institutes. T h e report of the U.S. P u r e a n d Applied Chemistry Delegation (7) describes a dozen of them. Many are located on large campuses in t h e northwestern p a r t of Beijing, such as Qinghua Daxue, t h e leading technical university, and Beijing Daxue, t h e outstanding general university. I spent an afternoon with t h e analytical chemists at t h e latter institution. As in t h e U.S., Chinese universities often have shortened names or nicknames, a n d so I will refer to Beijing University as " B e Da." T h e university is more t h a n 80 years old a n d has long been a source of trained persons for leadership in Chinese life. T h e chemistry d e p a r t m e n t is one of t h e largest at t h e university, with 800 s t u d e n t s (about 70 of t h e m a t the graduate level) and some 300 faculty a n d staff. T h e nine sections of t h e d e p a r t m e n t are inorganic, organic, analytical, physical, high polymers, catalysis, stable isotopes, colloids, a n d structural chemistry (especially X-ray crystallography). T h e y are spread over four buildings. T h e analytical chemistry section at Be Da was founded in 1952 a n d is one of t h e older specialties in the departm e n t . It has 40 faculty and staff, five of whom are at t h e rank of professor or associate professor, and about 120
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Professor Yan Du (center) with two graduate students in the atomic absorption laboratory at Beijing University
Wuhan grating s t u d e n t s , 10 of whom are graduate s t u d e n t s . Prior to 1966 the main emphasis in research was on classical techniques, such as emission spectroscopy, electroanalytical methods, and theory of coprecipitation. Since 1974 most of the modern techniques have been added. G r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s are trained for teaching and research positions in a three-year program. T h e first three semesters are devoted to courses; the remainder of the time is spent on thesis research. T h e graduates do not receive a degree such as the P h D b u t receive a certificate on completion of the program. T h i s seems to be the standard practice in the People's Republic. Analytical s t u d e n t s take several courses outside the specialty, including élec-
University lecturer with spectrometer
tives such as q u a n t u m chemistry and computer programming. T h e latter course teaches "6912," a Chinese-developed language similar to BASIC and usable on all Chinese-built computers. U n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s take a q u a n t i t a t i v e analysis course in their t h i r d semester and an instrumental analysis course in the third year. T h e former includes gravimetric, volumetric, and photometric methods, with 60 hours of lecture and 140 hours of laboratory. It is taken by students in other majors such as biology, geology, and medicine, while t h e instrumental course is only for chemistry majors. T h e undergraduates also all do a research project in their final semester of study; I spoke with a n u m b e r of these s t u d e n t s and have a good im-
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pression of the caliber of research in which they are participating. Since 1976, Be Da also has had a program of courses for industrial employees. These persons come to the university for six-week full-time periods of study. Analytical chemistry is among the areas included in this program. During my visit I m e t all the senior analytical faculty except Professor Gao Xiao-Xia. She had met with the P u r e and Applied Chemistry delegation in 1978. She was ill, and I regret I could not meet her. Professors Cheng Yung-hsi and Yan Du specialize in spectroscopy. Major emphasis in Professor Cheng's research (he also teaches a course in applied statistics) is placed on the lan-
thanides and their determination as major and also trace components. The lab has up-to-date instrumentation, including a Shimadzu UV-300 spec trometer purchased in 1980, a JarrellAsh grating emission spectrometer purchased in 1976, and several atomic absorption instruments. In the latter group were a Perkin-Elmer 403 with a specially constructed quartz-tube fur nace, an East German (Zeiss) instru ment and two made in China—the model GGX-1 made in the Beijing Geological Instrument Company and an instrument constructed at the uni versity. Professor Yan is in charge of this area. Several laboratories are devoted to electroanalytical chemistry. In the area of ion sensitive electrode potentiometry, projects involve, among oth ers, measurement of fluoride in heavy water and determination of gold in mineral samples using a locally devel oped gold selective electrode. T h e electrode sensor is a hydrophobic solu tion of tetraphenylarsonium tetrachloroaurate immobilized in PVC, and the research is studying the effect of vary ing the electrode composition on sen sitivity and stability of the electrode. T h e instruments being used included the PHS-2 analog p H meter from the Second Analytical Instrument Factory in Shanghai and the P X J - 1 digital readout meter which has 0.1 mV read ability. Voltammetry is used for measure ment of traces of the lanthanides. For example, oscillographic polarography of catalytic waves allows determina tion of europium at the Ι Ο - 6 Μ level, using xylenol orange as the reagent, as well as scandium and yttrium. Among the instruments in this lab were the model 883 polargraphic analyzer made in China and the L K B Polarolyzer. Professors Sun and Kuan both are specialists in gas chromatography. Re search projects are in progress involv ing both applied problems and funda mental principles. Methods are being developed for residual dibromochloropropane in peanuts and for organo phosphorous pesticides. T h e latter project involves elimination of residu al adsorption sites on the packings in order to reduce peak asymmetry. T h e relationship between peak width and retention time is being investigated using the multicomponent theory of chromatography. T h e question is whether a homologous series is re quired for this relationship to be lin ear. Among the gas chromatographs I saw was the SP2305, made in the Beij ing Analytical Instrument Factory, which has T C D , FID, and ECD. I am told t h a t more than 2000 of these in struments are made each year. A re cent purchase by this group was the LC-SY-01 liquid chromatograph, also
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made in Beijing with a variety of detectors. Time was not sufficient for me to see much of the rest of the department, but I was shown an environmental analysis lab where chromium, arsenic, mercury, cyanide, and total phenols in wastewater and ground water were being determined, and a thermal analysis lab with differential thermal analyzers made in Shanghai and Beijing. Tianjin: Nankai University
Tianjin (formerly spelled Tientsin! is a city of 4.5 million people located 100 km southeast of Beijing. It is a major industrial and port city and the home of several colleges and universities, of which Nankai University is the most important. The city and university had suffered considerable damage in the earthquake that struck Tangshan, 75 km to the east in 1976, and I saw several buildings being reconstructed or strengthened. Nankai University was founded in 1919 (the late Premier Zhou Enlai was a member of the first class). It has an enrollment of more than 4000 students (5% at the graduate level) and 1500 faculty and staff. The chemistry department is one of the largest in the university, with more than 250 faculty and staff. It is divided into sections of inorganic, organic, physical, analytical, environmental, and high polymer chemistry, with specialized institutes for areas such as organic structural theory, catalysis, and ion exchange resins. During my stay in Tianjin I met with members of the analytical and environmental sections and visited their labs, as well as those in several related areas. I also had the opportunity to visit an ion exchange resin fac-
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tory located on the campus. My hosts were Professor Dai Shugui of the environmental section and Engineer Cheng Guang Zhong, manager of the ion exchanger factory (his wife Wang XiaoLan is an organic chemist on leave at Seton Hall University), as well as Professor Gao Zhen Heng, chairman of the chemistry department and a theoretical organic chemist. Professor Shi Hwi Ming, head of the analytical section, was away at a conference in Xian during my visit, so I was unable to talk with her. The analytical and environmental labs are well-equipped for teaching and research. Each has about 30 faculty and staff (some of the environmental scientists are from other departments such as physics and biology) and a like number of students in the analytical courses. The vice-director of the analytical section, Lu Shu Yin, has as her primary assignment the supervision of teaching. The instrumental analysis course uses a text written by members of the Nankai University faculty and published in Beijing in 1978; the book seems comparable in level to Ewing's "Instrumental Methods of Chemical Analysis." The facilities for chromatographic research and analysis are found in several of the sections. The Elementoorganic Institute, for example, emphasizes pesticide synthesis and uses gas chromatography for residue determinations. It has recently purchased a Shimadzu CS910 TLC scanner, along with the university's NMR, ORD, and IR instruments (the latter includes a microsampling device for 10-Mg quantities). Professor Yu Zhong Jian heads a GC and LC research group with a large variety of instruments, some adapted for capillary columns. The environmental section also is active in
GC and LC, with a Perkin-Elmer Sigma 2GC with Sigma 10 data system used for pesticides measurements and a Carlo Erba 2101 Fractovap GC adapted for determination of organomercurials, and the Chinese SY-01 LC for reverse-phase separation and determination of phenols. There are extensive spectroscopic laboratories, primarily for elemental analysis. The emission spectroscopy labs have instruments imported from Germany and some made in China, such as the WSP-1 2-m monochromator made at the Beijing Optical Instrument Factory, which is used for lanthanide analysis. An ICP source, GP3.5-D1, made at the Singxian Instrument Factory in Shanghai will be used with the WSP-1 for environmental analysis. Mr. Chen Xin Kun has written a book in Chinese, entitled "Principles and Applications of ICP Spectrometry," for use at the university. Many of the 280 references are to 1979 publications. The atomic absorption instrumentation includes a Varian Techtron AA-6 used to determine heavy metals such as cadmium in seawater at the 0.1 ppb level (with electrochemical preconcentration onto a tungsten electrode followed by electrothermal atomization). The WFD-Y2 AA from the Second Optical Instrument Factory in Beijing is for flame-only operation, while a modified WFD-Y2 is used to determine arsenic and antimony by the vapor generation method (the WFD-Y3 AA includes a furnace atomizer). The analytical section also has a WYX-401 AA made in Shenyang, which is used to determine heavy metals in wastewater. The environmental section uses a model 590AA made in Shanghai for the determination of mercury in environmental samples. The sections also have several labs for electrochemical analysis. Among the research instruments designed at Nankai University are a pulse polarograph and a microcoulometer. The latter is now produced at the Tianjin Instrument Factory and is used for coulometric titrations, for example, for the determination of cyanide in water. The teaching labs have a wide range of instruments, such as oscillographic and DC polarographs and pX meters. The ion exchange resin factory was built in 1958. It is a part of the university and is used for training advanced students. About a thousand metric tons of resins are sold each year. The staff has recently built and installed an automated control system for the plant. The research lab is investigating areas such as polymer synthesis, substitutes for chloromethyl ether, and waste treatment for the factory. An applications lab works closely with industries in the region, with special
emphasis on wastewater treatment using ion exchangers, for example, in the electroplating industry. The factory uses quite a variety of analytical techniques for quality control, research, and applications testing. It was interesting to visit the Quan Ye Chang, the main department store in Tianjin, and find numerous electronic instruments for sale as well as pH meters and gas chromatographs. I doubt that many American analytical chemists could go to their local department store for similar service! Conclusion
A few days is too short a visit to get an accurate picture of the overall state of analytical chemistry in the People's Republic of China. However, my impression is that our field is strong and that the Chinese are making rapid progress in catching up to the current state of the art in most key specialties. The faculty and students with whom I spoke are aware of current developments in instrumentation and the practice of analytical chemistry, and are eager to learn. Facilities are improving, and instrumentation is good and available in increasing amounts at the universities. It should be noted that there are very few large instruments (NMR, mass spectrometers) in even the best universities and institutes and that the use of such equipment is limited to a very few staff members. Also, small computers are very rare in the chemistry departments, and few of the faculty and students have any opportunity to learn computer interfacing. This will undoubtedly change over the next few years. It is a rewarding experience to visit the People's Republic. The people are unfailingly courteous, generous in the time they spend with you, eager to listen to what you have to say. If you should travel to China, try to arrange
in advance to visit some chemists in your specialty. When you are there, by all means talk about your own work, but do make a special effort to learn about what your counterparts are doing. In this way you will start some warm friendships—and you will find it hard to take leave of your new friends at the end of your stay. Perhaps you will also then recognize that while the laws of nature may be the same everywhere—a commonplace among scientists and laypeople alike—our body of scientific knowledge has been shaped by the cultures of the people who have built it. Although scientific facts know no national boundaries, scientific understanding is influenced by the language and culture of each practicing scientist. Hence, I think contact between Western and Eastern scientists is bound to lead to the improvement of science and technology in both cultures. We can gain from the perspective of the Chinese scientists as much as they can gain from us. In Wuhan, President Larry Murphy of Seton Hall University told our hosts that our mission was much like the building of the great bridge over the Chang Jiang at Wuhan, linking northern and southern China: to build bridges of understanding of each other's cultures despite the distance that separates us. I am glad to have had the opportunity to work toward this goal through my visit and through this article. Acknowledgment
The author appreciates the assistance of Wang Xiao Lan and Yang Xiucen in the preparation of this article. References
(1) "Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in the People's Republic of China"; Baldeschwieler, J., Ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, D.C., 1979.
Roland F. Hirsch, associate professor of chemistry at Seton Hall University, is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Michigan. His research interests include gas and liquid chromatography, ion sensitive electrodes, and statistics. He is currently secretary of the Analytical Division of the American Chemical Society. In this photo, Dr. Hirsch stands before the Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan.
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