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Electrochemistry, past and present
441
J. Eleciroanal. Chem., 278 (1990) 441-443 Elsevier Sequoia S.A., Lausanne - Printed in The Netherlands
Book reviews
Electrochemistry, Past and Present. J.T. Stock and M.V. Oma (Editors). ACS Symposium Series No. 390. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1989, ix + 600 pp., US $89.95 (U.S.A. and Canada), US $107.95 (elsewhere). This book comprises papers delivered at a symposium sponsored by the Divisions of History of Chemistry and of Analytical Chemistry at the 3rd Chemical Congress of North America in Toronto, 5-11 June 1988. 39 articles are printed and these are divided into four sections. Foundations of Electrochemistry (12), Organic and Biochemical Electrochemistry (4), Electroanalytical Chemistry (16) and Industrial Electrochemistry (7). It is inevitable with a diverse authorship that a wide range of approaches is represented. This is partly a result of the subjects treated: some are the result of research into the distant past, others are describing work that they took part in with people that they knew well, some as recently as the past decade. In the latter group some are attempts at an objective historical approach, others much more personal, describing almost exclusively their own work, and others again more like a conventional subject review. This variety adds to the interest of the volume and will provide a challenge to scientific historians of the future for whom this will be a valuable source book. There is so much that is fascinating in this book that it is difficult to make specific comments. The subject is so vast that inevitably the survey is incomplete. What is perhaps more surprising is some omissions in the subjects actually treated; e.g. mention of Hammett or of Horiuti and Polanyi in Chapter 5; of Frumkin’s correction of the errors made by Latimer, Pitzer and Slansky in Chapter 9 or of Koryta’s books in Chapter 21. Some errors should have been eliminated by the refereeing process, e.g. the confusion of two sorts of absolute potential on p. 145 and the diagram of the Nemst diffusion layer on p. 558. There is also the rather inaccurate use of IUPAC conventions on p. 143. Perhaps the subject of conventions might prove a useful contribution to a future symposium of this type, starting with the Faraday-Whewell discussion, of which excellent accounts exist already. An important aspect of the present volume is the presence of articles on areas not already well covered in historical publications in electrochemistry, such as the biographical sketches of Lash-Miller and Sand and the brief account of Mexican electrochemistry. The Symposium was promoted by John Stock who persuaded the ACS to support it. He and his co-editor deserve the grateful thanks of the present and future
442
electrochemical community for all the work they have devoted to this and the excellent book which has resulted from it. Any electrochemist who is not only interested in his own immediate research will find much illumination from the study of these chapters. R. PARSONS Southampton
New Techniques for the Study of Electrodes and their Reactions. Chemical Kinetics, Volume 29. R.G. Compton and A. Hamnett vier, Amsterdam, 1989, xvi + 504 pp., US$260.50, DF1.495.00.
Comprehensive (Editors), Else-
Following two volumes of this series which cover more basic electrochemistry, the editors have set out to review the more recent developments in instrumental methods for investigating electrode reactions. Inevitably, there is a strong emphasis on spectroelectrochemical techniques, but in all there are eleven chapters covering: - New hydrodynamic methods - Microelectrodes - Channel electrodes - Computer control and analysis of electrochemical experiments - In-situ infrared studies - In-situ Raman spectroscopy - Ellipsometry - Ex-situ UHV techniques - In-situ ESR studies - Photocurrent spectroscopy - Electroreflectance at semiconductors The authors are all British and this, together with the choice of materials, is determined by the fact that the book reflects the papers presented at an Electrochemistry Group conference held in Oxford during April 1987. All the chapters are clearly written by active workers in their fields; in general, both the theory and the laboratory implementation of the techniques are considered with a stress on the literature of the past decade. Hence the book presents a modern image of electrochemistry and will be particularly useful to those who want to check on the status of a technique or to enter the literature rapidly. On the other hand, as is common with multi-author texts, there is a wide variety of styles. Some authors have produced extensive and detailed coverage of their topics while others have been content to limit themselves to a personal view of selected aspects. While I found both types of chapter of interest, the former seems more appropriate to this series. This book assumes a substantial background in electrochemistry and can, in no way, be regarded as an introductory text. Moreover, it is unlikely that many readers will be interested in all the chapters. As is noted above, it is more likely to be useful to experienced electrochemists seeking a considered view of one technique. Overall,
J. Eleciroanal. Chem., 278 (1990) 441-443 Elsevier Sequoia S.A., Lausanne - Printed in The Netherlands
Book reviews
Electrochemistry, Past and Present. J.T. Stock and M.V. Oma (Editors). ACS Symposium Series No. 390. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1989, ix + 600 pp., US $89.95 (U.S.A. and Canada), US $107.95 (elsewhere). This book comprises papers delivered at a symposium sponsored by the Divisions of History of Chemistry and of Analytical Chemistry at the 3rd Chemical Congress of North America in Toronto, 5-11 June 1988. 39 articles are printed and these are divided into four sections. Foundations of Electrochemistry (12), Organic and Biochemical Electrochemistry (4), Electroanalytical Chemistry (16) and Industrial Electrochemistry (7). It is inevitable with a diverse authorship that a wide range of approaches is represented. This is partly a result of the subjects treated: some are the result of research into the distant past, others are describing work that they took part in with people that they knew well, some as recently as the past decade. In the latter group some are attempts at an objective historical approach, others much more personal, describing almost exclusively their own work, and others again more like a conventional subject review. This variety adds to the interest of the volume and will provide a challenge to scientific historians of the future for whom this will be a valuable source book. There is so much that is fascinating in this book that it is difficult to make specific comments. The subject is so vast that inevitably the survey is incomplete. What is perhaps more surprising is some omissions in the subjects actually treated; e.g. mention of Hammett or of Horiuti and Polanyi in Chapter 5; of Frumkin’s correction of the errors made by Latimer, Pitzer and Slansky in Chapter 9 or of Koryta’s books in Chapter 21. Some errors should have been eliminated by the refereeing process, e.g. the confusion of two sorts of absolute potential on p. 145 and the diagram of the Nemst diffusion layer on p. 558. There is also the rather inaccurate use of IUPAC conventions on p. 143. Perhaps the subject of conventions might prove a useful contribution to a future symposium of this type, starting with the Faraday-Whewell discussion, of which excellent accounts exist already. An important aspect of the present volume is the presence of articles on areas not already well covered in historical publications in electrochemistry, such as the biographical sketches of Lash-Miller and Sand and the brief account of Mexican electrochemistry. The Symposium was promoted by John Stock who persuaded the ACS to support it. He and his co-editor deserve the grateful thanks of the present and future
442
electrochemical community for all the work they have devoted to this and the excellent book which has resulted from it. Any electrochemist who is not only interested in his own immediate research will find much illumination from the study of these chapters. R. PARSONS Southampton
New Techniques for the Study of Electrodes and their Reactions. Chemical Kinetics, Volume 29. R.G. Compton and A. Hamnett vier, Amsterdam, 1989, xvi + 504 pp., US$260.50, DF1.495.00.
Comprehensive (Editors), Else-
Following two volumes of this series which cover more basic electrochemistry, the editors have set out to review the more recent developments in instrumental methods for investigating electrode reactions. Inevitably, there is a strong emphasis on spectroelectrochemical techniques, but in all there are eleven chapters covering: - New hydrodynamic methods - Microelectrodes - Channel electrodes - Computer control and analysis of electrochemical experiments - In-situ infrared studies - In-situ Raman spectroscopy - Ellipsometry - Ex-situ UHV techniques - In-situ ESR studies - Photocurrent spectroscopy - Electroreflectance at semiconductors The authors are all British and this, together with the choice of materials, is determined by the fact that the book reflects the papers presented at an Electrochemistry Group conference held in Oxford during April 1987. All the chapters are clearly written by active workers in their fields; in general, both the theory and the laboratory implementation of the techniques are considered with a stress on the literature of the past decade. Hence the book presents a modern image of electrochemistry and will be particularly useful to those who want to check on the status of a technique or to enter the literature rapidly. On the other hand, as is common with multi-author texts, there is a wide variety of styles. Some authors have produced extensive and detailed coverage of their topics while others have been content to limit themselves to a personal view of selected aspects. While I found both types of chapter of interest, the former seems more appropriate to this series. This book assumes a substantial background in electrochemistry and can, in no way, be regarded as an introductory text. Moreover, it is unlikely that many readers will be interested in all the chapters. As is noted above, it is more likely to be useful to experienced electrochemists seeking a considered view of one technique. Overall,