Anal. Chem. 2008, 80, 5692–5694
I. M. Kolthoff and the Former Soviet Union Yu. A. Zolotov Lomonosov Moscow State University A Russian chemist reminisces about the visits of a premier analytical chemist. Izaak Maurits Kolthoff (February 11, 1894–March 4, 1993) is widely regarded as the father of analytical chemistry in the U.S. and is well-known among analysts the world over. Kolthoff made significant contributions to several fields of analytical chemistry; titrimetry, the theory of precipitation, and especially electroanalytical chemistry. The terms conductometric, potentiometric, and amperometric titrations as well as voltammetry were invented by Kolthoff; the name voltammetry was suggested in 1940 in Science. Kolthoff wrote many monographs. His main goal in research was understanding the chemical and physical processes used for chemical analysis. Educational activities were not neglected. In 1936, Kolthoff and E. B. Sandell coauthored the very popular Textbook of Quantitative Inorganic Analysis, which was republished many times. He had many students who became well-known analysts, including Sandell, H. A. Laitinen (a former editor of this journal), J. J. Lingane, S. Bruckenstein, D. N. Hume, and J. F. Coetzee. For many years, Kolthoff was the only analytical chemist who was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He was also recognized for his work by the American Chemical Society (the Nichols Medal, Fisher Award, Gibbs Medal, and Award for Teaching Excellence). Kolthoff was a foreign member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Sciences and a number of other scientific societies throughout the world. Kolthoff was born in Almelo, The Netherlands. In 1927, he began his long association with the University of Minnesota. He served as professor and chief of the division of analytical chemistry until 1962, when he became professor emeritus. Kolthoff had many international contacts. In the early 1950s, he helped establish the analytical division of IUPAC, which now has members from more than 50 countries. Kolthoff was well-known in the U.S.S.R.; he visited Moscow several times. Many monographs and textbooks by Kolthoff have been translated into Russian and published in the U.S.S.R. In 1929, a translation of his book on indicators was published in Leningrad.1 The monograph Potentiometric Titration by Kolthoff and 5692
Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 80, No. 15, August 1, 2008
N. H. Furman was translated into Russian by B. P. Nikol’sky and published in 1935.2 The Russian translation of Textbook of Quantitative Inorganic Analysis was very widespread in the Soviet Union and was used by students at many universities.3 The first translation appeared in 1938; the second edition in 1941 without changes; the third was published in 1948 with some additions and comments by the editor of the translations, Yu. Yu. Lurie. Kolthoff wrote many books on volumetric analysis. The first were prepared in German and translated into Russian in 1932.4,5 Between 1950 and 1961, three volumes of Volumetric Analysis appeared; the first two were written by Kolthoff and V. A. Stenger; the third was by Kolthoff, Stenger, R. Belcher, and J. Matsuyama.6,7 The textbook Determination of Hydrogen Ion Concentration and Electrotitration and the monograph Polarography (by Kolthoff and Lingane) appeared in the U.S.S.R. in the first years after World War II.8,9 As far as I know, Kolthoff visited the U.S.S.R. at least three times. He was in Moscow in June 1945 as a guest of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences when it celebrated its 220th anniversary. The war against Nazi Germany had just ended, victory was in the air, and the academy anniversary was very widely celebrated. Many well-known foreign scientists were invited. Kolthoff and other guests visited various scientific institutions. Before departing the U.S.S.R., Kolthoff wrote the preface to the Russian translation of Polarography. He said (back-translation from Russian), “I am going back to America with impressions on a great contribution into sciences made by Russian chemists and physicists which I highly appreciate. I shall remember the feeling of the deep gratitude for kindness and sincere hospitality during the celebration of 220th anniversary of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.” Kolthoff’s second visit took place in December 1957 at the International Conference on Application of Radioactive Isotopes in Analytical Chemistry in Moscow. However, this relatively narrow topic did not determine the importance of the event. It was a time of rapid growth in science in the Soviet Union;the first artificial satellite [Sputnik] was orbiting the Earth. Interest in the U.S.S.R. and its science and technology was in full swing. 10.1021/ac801280x CCC: $40.75 2008 American Chemical Society Published on Web 07/31/2008
COURTESY OF YU. A. ZOLOTOV
COURTESY OF YU. A. ZOLOTOV
Kolthoff with members of the analytical chemistry division of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Left to right: I. P. Alimarin, Kolthoff, A. I. Busev, E. N. Vinogradova, I. M. Gibalo, P. K. Agasyan, A. P. Golovina, Z. F. Podgaiskaya, and Z. F. Shakhova. COURTESY OF YU. A. ZOLOTOV
COURTESY OF YU. A. ZOLOTOV
I. P. Alimarin introducing Kolthoff to the audience at Moscow University in 1959.
Zolotov (right) as a guest of Kolthoff in Minneapolis in 1990.
A. P. Vinogradova and Kolthoff at the banquet during the 1957 conference. Kolthoff was the only conference participant from the U.S. His name was very well-known among Soviet chemists, especially among analysts and electrochemists, and he was the center of attention. The conference had been organized by the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, and the director of the institute, A. P. Vinogradov, was the chair of the organizing committee. In the 1930s, Vinogradov specialized in determining the chemical composition of marine organisms. In the 1940s, he was head of the chemical analytical part of the Soviet atomic project. (Vinogradov is better known as a geochemist and a cosmochemist; in the 1970s and 1980s, he served as a vice president of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and was responsible for earth sciences.) I. P. Alimarin, head of the analytical chemistry division at Moscow University, hosted Kolthoff. Apart from many appointments during the conference itself, Kolthoff made visits to institutes of the Academy of Sciences and other research institutes. For example, he had meetings with the famous electrochemist A. N. Frumkin and the inorganic chemist V. I. Spitsin. Kolthoff spoke highly of Frumkin’s investigations. Because I was a participant in the conference and present at
various meetings with Kolthoff, I heard him say that he had nominated Frumkin for the Nobel Prize. When Kolthoff came to Moscow for the third time (about 1959), Alimarin organized a lecture for chemistry students at Moscow University. Later, Kolthoff and Alimarin stayed in contact by mail. However, contact was broken when Alimarin did not answer Kolthoff’s request to sign a collective official letter to support Soviet Jews going to Israel. Kolthoff wrote about his visits to the U.S.S.R. for the Minneapolis Star. Finally, some personal remarks. After Kolthoff’s trips to the U.S.S.R., I also corresponded with him. This is a fragment from his letter of 1988. “On one of my trips to northeast Europe, I received an invitation to visit Moscow. On that day, I had a long meeting with the students of the Moscow University. I spent most of the afternoon with them and it was quite clear from their comments that our relations needed improvement. “I would like very much to spend some time with you and am wondering if you would consider a visit to the U.S.A. I have not approached my colleagues here and elsewhere whether they would be interested in you making a lecture tour in this country. If so, I would be glad to make arrangements for such a trip.” In 1990, B. F. Myasoedov and I spent a month in the U.S. and visited Kolthoff in Minneapolis. He lived in a Radisson hotel and was helped by a university nurse named Mary. At that time, Kolthoff was already weak, but he warmly remembered his journeys to Moscow. Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 80, No. 15, August 1, 2008
5693
In 1978, at Moscow University, I began studies of macrocyclic compounds as analytical reagents. These results were later summarized in the monograph Macrocyclic Compounds in Analytical Chemistry, published by Wiley. I was greatly inspired by Kolthoff’s review of macrocyclic compounds, published in Analytical Chemistry in 1979, and it stimulated our work quite a lot. REFERENCES (1) Kolthoff, I. M. Application of Color Indicators in Neutralization Analysis and Colorimetric Determination of Hydrogen Ions (in Russian), 3rd ed.; Zhukov, I. I., Translation Ed.; Nauch. Khim.-Tekhn. Izd.: Leningrad, U.S.S.R., 1929. (2) Kolthoff, I. M.; Furman, N. H. Potentiometric Titration (in Russian); Nikol’sky, B. P., Translation Ed.; Khimteoret: Leningrad, Russia, 1935 (transl. from 2nd American ed.). (3) Kolthoff, I. M.; Sandell, E. B. Quantitative Analysis (in Russian); Lurie, Yu. Yu., Translation Ed.; GONTI: Moscow, 1938; 2nd ed., Goskhimteoret: Moscow-Leningrad, 1941; 3rd ed., Goskhimteoret: Moscow-Leningrad, 1948. (4) Kolthoff, I. M. Volumetric Analysis (in Russian), Theoretical Basis, Vol. I, 2nd ed.; Khlopin, V. G., Translation Ed.; Goskhimteoret: Leningrad, U.S.S.R., 1932.
5694
Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 80, No. 15, August 1, 2008
(5) Kolthoff, I. M. Volumetric Analysis (in Russian); Practice of Volumetric Analysis, Vol. II; Khlopin, V. G., Translation Ed.; Goskhimteoret: Leningrad, U.S.S.R., 1932. (6) Kolthoff, I. M.; Stenger, V. A. Volumetric Analysis (in Russian); Theoretical Part, Vol. I; Lurie, Yu. Yu., Translation Ed.; Goskhimizdat: MoscowLeningrad, 1950. Practical Part, Vol. II; Methods of Neutralization, Precipitation and Complex Formation. Lurie, Yu. Yu., Translation Ed.; Goskhimizdat: Moscow, Leningrad, 1952. (7) Kolthoff, I. M. Volumetric Analysis; Practical Part: Oxidation-Reduction Methods, Vol. III; Goskhimteoret: Moscow, 1961. (8) Kolthoff, I. M.; Laitinen, H. A. Determination of Hydrogen Ion Concentration and Electrotitration: Colorimetric and Potentiometric Determination of pH, Potentiometry, Conductometry and Voltammetry (Polarography), Fundamentals of Electrometric Titration (in Russian). Przhevalsky, E. S., Translation Ed.; Gos. Izd. Inostr. Lit.: Moscow, 1947. (9) Kolthoff, I. M.; Lingane, J. J. Polarography: Polarographic Analysis and Voltammetry, Amperometric Titration (in Russian). Vinogradov, A. P., Translation Ed.; Goskhimizdat: Moscow-Leningrad, 1948.
AC801280X
