Development of atomic spectroscopy

Development of atomic spectroscopy

XVIII trends in analytical chemistry, vol. 1, no. lo,1982 basic physical chemistry of the equilibria involved and how the distribution coefficient i...

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XVIII

trends in analytical chemistry, vol. 1, no. lo,1982

basic physical chemistry of the equilibria involved and how the distribution coefficient is affected by pH, ionic strength ofeluent, etc. . . . Hc provides a lot of information with chromatographic examples on the effect of pH and the importance of pH control. Ion pair chromatography is the other major arca covered. The effect of ionic strength and concentration of ion pairing agent arc fully covered. Unfortunately, the authors perpetuate the myth of the two mechanisms of IPC which have so confused our understanding over the years. Is it not time that the chief exponents of this. technique recognized that in essence four equilibria, rather than a selection of three, are required to give a broad picture of all the major effects and that kinetic mechanisms cannot bc discussed in the context of thermody-

namic data. The article concludes with a short section, too short in my view, on complex ion chromatography, although at the time ofwriting in 1979 it was significantly less developed than now. The final article must be recognized as the high point of the volume. It deals in a masterly way with gradient elution LC. Dr Lloyd Snyder has long been associated with the ‘general elution problem’ and this article has given him the opportunity to present the and most authoritative clearest, persuasive account of the subject yet seen. The article sketches out the general principles of gradient elution and then gradually expands and quantifies these by a series of illustrative examples and fairly straightequations mathematical forward whose derivation is dealt with in a last

Development of atomic spectroscopy Annual Reports on Ana&ical Atomic Spectroscopy, Vol. 10, edited by M. S. Cresser and B. L. Sharp, The Royal Socie& of Chemistry, 1981. U6.00 (xii + 342 pages) ISBN 0 85186 717 0 The present volume of the highly successful series of reviews on atomic spectroscopy not only completes the second handful, but also closes a decade of hectic developments in the field. Appropriately, the editors have asked Dr John Price to present a 30 page personal account of 10 years’ highlights in atomic absorption spectroscopy. This quite readable reviewin-a-review opens the volume and sets the tone of the remainder. Once again, the editors have done an admirable job in co-ordinating the efforts of40 contri(and their cobuting scientists workers), who describe the development ofatomic spectroscopy in 1980. In the context of the series this covers atomic absorption and atomic emission spectrometry using flames, furnaces,

arcs, sparks and various plasmas. After the introductory paper the first half of the volume is devoted to Atomization and excitation (34 pp.), Instrumentation (22 pp., including four tables on commercial instruments) and Methodology (22 pp., of which 12 are devoted to reference materials and standard methods). The second half, comprising over 100 pp., is devoted to applications, grouped according to sample type (e.g. minerals, air, water) rather than element (As, Pb) or analysis method (flame AAS, ICP). The volume ends with 1782 references to published articles and conference papers (addresses are supplied), an author and a subject index. There can be no doubt that a massive amount of information has been digested and -judging from a few samples - that the literature has been thoroughly covered. The question is how easily this information is accessible to the reader. The answer depends on the starting point chosen.

Errata



Arpino, P. J., Trends Anal. Chem., 1, 154. p. 155, line 11: refs 3,5 should read refs 5,6 p. 156, line 10: ‘GC/MS’ should read ‘LC/MS’ p. 157, Fig. 4. legend: ‘from a marine sponge’ should read ‘from a sea squirt.’ East, B. W., Trends Anal. Chem. 1, 179. AT p. 182, line 28 ‘I, = AT - h T’ should read ‘I, = zr ne We apologise to Dr. Arpino and Dr. East for the incorporation of the above errors in their published papers.

section (which can be omitted). Dr Snyder then goes back to practical optimization procedures to round off a masterly treatment. I am sure this article will become required reading for anyone wishing to use gradient LC. The basic concept upon which the whole treatment hinges is that of the linear solvent strength gradient which is one which will in theory give equally spaced, equally wide peaks from the members of a homologous series as would a linear gradient in (I/T) for gas chromatography. This series has certainly started with a flourish and one wishes the Editor well in maintaining such a high standard of presentation. JOHN H. KNOX

John H. Knox is at the Department of Chemistry Universip of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, U.K.

Any topic that is treated in a separate section of the subject-organized chapters is easily found from the detailed table of contents. Such sections are well written and provide rapid access to the pertinent references. Some topics are distributed over several sections, of necessity and must be traced from the subject index. Unfortunately, the subject index is not always sufficiently detailed. For example, this referee could not easily find his way to graphite furnace emission or to background correction in the ICP. In the - admittedly rare - situation that the reader wants to work his way back from a particular author or a particular paper he finds himself at a loss. The author index refers to the reference list, but neither refers to the section(s) where the reference is quoted. Perhaps such cross referencing could be included in future volumes. Still, these are only minor criticisms of a highly commendable compilation of the literature. The price and the treatment naturally point to libraries as the principal if not exclusive purchasers of the book. Any research group with fundamental or applied interest in the fields covered should urge their library to subscribe to the series or continue subcription even in the face of diminishing budgets. L. DE GALAN Professor L. de Galan is at the Technische Hogeschool Delft, Gebouw voor Analytische Scheikunde, Delft, The Netherlands.