Books
Practical Applications of Potentiometry
Potentiometry and Potentiometric Titrations. E. P. Serjeant, xvi + 725 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1984. $75
Reviewed by Orland Rolling, Department of Chemistry, Southwestern College, Winfield, Kan. 67156 Potentiometry is clearly one of the oldest instrumental methods of analysis; it is a topic that has been part of undergraduate courses in analytical and physical chemistry for most of this century. However, the rapid development of new electrodes and more sensitive and stable electronic components in the past two decades has expanded tremendously the range of analytical applications of potentiometric measurements. This book is Volume 69 of the monograph series, "Chemical Analysis," edited by Elving, Winefordner, and Kolthoff. It is intended to be an advanced text or reference book for graduate students and professional analytical chemists. The book is divided into three major sections: Part 1—Cells, Electrodes and Basic Procedures, Part 2—Applications to the Determination of Solution Equilibrium Data, and Part 3— Applications to Titrimetric Analysis. The first section summarizes electrochemical cell conventions, indicator and reference electrode characteristics, as well as the supporting fundamental theory of analytical potentiometry. A stronger feature of this section is the survey of membrane electrodes and other forms of specific ion indicator electrodes along with a set of well-constructed tables highlighting major applications for each such electrode. The main new ground covered in Part 2 concerns the interpretation of the titration characteristics of significant biochemical polyelectrolytes. A discussion of nonaqueous acid-base equilibria and titrations in this part of the book is limited to reactions in hydrogen bonding acidic solvents and a few basic solvents; however, the topic coverage and theoretical treatment in this section
Potentiometry and Potentiometric Titrations E.P.Serjeant do not go beyond that available in other monographs. An outline of experimental and computational methods for the evaluation of stability constants for transition metal complexes is given in Chapter 8, but it is much too restricted to be very useful. Part 3, on known applications of potentiometric titrations, is written in the same format as the annual Reviews issue of ANALYTICAL C H E M I S -
TRY. As such, it is a thorough compilation of appropriate and more modern literature sources although the citations do not extend beyond the 1970s. Any new book in the field of potentiometry invites comparisons with three classic volumes of previous decades—"Electroanalytical Chemistry" by Lingane, "Chemical Analysis" by Laitinen and Harris, and "Determination of p H " by Bates. Serjeant's monograph is stronger on the applications of potentiometry to practical analytical problems, but it is less successful than these earlier works in the theoretical sections. As with other series of specialized monographs in chemistry, the price of the book is such that its purchase will be limited mainly to academic and industrial libraries.
Practical Absorption Spectrometry. A. Knowles, C. Burgess, Eds. xxii + 234 pp. Chapman & Hall, 733 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017. 1984. $39.95
Reviewed by Thomas O'Haver, Department of Chemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. 20742 This is a very useful introduction to analytical absorption spectrophotometry. The emphasis is on instrumentation and analytical technique. The theory of the electronic absorption spectra of organic molecules is dealt with only briefly. Specific spectrophotometric methods of particular organic or inorganic species are not covered. In general the treatment is on the undergraduate instrumental analysis level, but it is more detailed in some areas than the typical undergraduate text. Throughout the book there are many useful experimental hints that will be particularly valuable to the practical analytical chemist. Each chapter is written by a different author, but their efforts have been well coordinated so there is no significant overlap or stylistic discontinuity between the separate contributions. The development of the subject matter follows the usual flow with chapters on spectroscopy principles, instrument design, light sources, monochromators, detectors, electronics, etc. Particularly noteworthy are the discussions of absorption cells, photometer electronics, computer interfacing, and instrument maintenance, which go well beyond the usual textbook treatment. A brief review of data treatment techniques, such as derivative spectroscopy and numerical analysis, is provided. The authors have included a very useful appendix, which gives the absorption spectra of a number of common solvents, as well as spectra of some rare-earth salts that are useful for wavelength calibration. Absorption maxima of the latter are given to the nearest 0.1 nm. There are a few shortcomings. The chapter on monochromators rigorously avoids the customary equation derivations, perhaps because this material
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 57, NO. 6, MAY 1985 · 711 A
Books
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Pharmaceutical Analysis: Modern Methods. Pt. B. James Munson, Ed. xi + 496 pp. Marcel Dekker, 270 Madi son Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1984. $79.75
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Mossbauer Spectroscopy Applied to Inorganic Chemistry. Vol. 1. Gary Long, Ed. xviii + 667 pp. Plenum Press, 233 Spring St., New York, N.Y. 10013. 1984. $92.50
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Chemometrics: Mathematics and Sta tistics In Chemistry. Bruce Kowalski, Ed. xv + 485 pp. D. Reidel Publishing Co., 190 Old Derby St., Wingham, Mass. 02043. 1984. $69 Biological Magnetic Resonance. Vol. 6. Lawrence Berliner, Jacques Reuben, Eds. xvii + 300 pp. Plenum Press, 233 Spring St., New York, N.Y. 10013. 1984. $47.50 Techniques In Organic Reaction Kinet ics. Petr Zuman, Ramesh Patel. χ + 340 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1984. $49.50 Electrochemical Detectors. T. H. Ryan, Ed. xiii + 172 pp. Plenum Press, 233 Spring St., New York, N.Y. 10013. 1984. $39.50 Advances in Laboratory Automation Robotics 1984. Gerald Hawk, Janet Strimaitis, Eds. χ + 341 pp. Zymark Corp., Zymark Center, Hopkinton, Mass. 01748. 1984. $45
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Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry of the Elements: Organic Section. Vol. 15. Allen Bard, Henning Lund, Eds. xii + 232 pp. Marcel Dekker, 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1984. $129.50 Proton and Carbon NMR Spectra of Polymers. Vol. 3. Quang Tho Pham et al. 229 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1984. $125
