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COMPLEXOMETRIC TITRATIONS
Gerold Schwarzenbach, Professor of
Chemistry, University of Zurich. Trans-
lated by Horry Irving, University of Ox-
ford. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New
York, 1957. xviii + 132 pp. 41 figs,
7 tables. 14.5 X 22 cm. $3.75.
procedures. Yet it can mended
Originally published by Ferdinand
Enke Verlag, Stuttgart, in 1955 under the
title Die komplexometrische Titration, the
German edition of this book received im-
mediate and widespread acceptance, as
shown by the fact that the first edition was
sold out six months after its first appear-
ance. The present translation was carried
out in parallel with the preparation of a
second German edition.
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made possible by the fact that the metal The first 51 pages deal in excellent detail
ion concentration is generally very low on Measurements, Errors, and Computa-
tions. A section on Dimensions and
(typically of the order of 10~3M), the ti-
tration curve calculations become quite Approximate Computations is worth not-
straightforward. ing. Too often these matters are over-
This volume cannot be regarded as a looked in a course in physical chemistry.
textbook or as a comprehensive book of The sections on Theory of Errors and Ap-
be highly recom- plication of Error Theory deserve high
both for the advanced student and praise, both for their presentation and for
the practicing analyst as a valuable guide the simple fact that they were included.
to the principles. The section on Evaluation of the Con-
It is characteristic of this rapidly pro- stants of Empirical Equations is, to this re-
gressing field that a book must be out of viewer, worthy of special mention. All of
date in certain respects immediately upon this introductory part of the book sub-
publication. Thus, the work of Reiliev on stantiates the conviction that students
the use of the mercury-EDTA complex as a should know how to handle data, how to
source for the coulometric generation of evaluate, and how to determine its degree
EDTA is mentioned only in the trans- of respectability.
lator’s preface, and his use ol the mercury- Another fine feature of this manual is the

It would be difficult to find a more em- EDTA indicator inclusion in a separate section, but along
inently qualified original author and trans- potentiometrie electrode
lator for any research monograph than the is not mentioned at all. Likewise, the re- with the experiment, an explanation and
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two distinguished scientists who have con- cent literature contains numerous refer- details of operation of some of the standard
tributed to this volume. Professor ences to new metal ion indicators. pieces of equipment found in a physical
Schwarzenbach, in 1945, first pointed out Very few typographical errors were chemistry laboratory, Some of these are
the exceptional properties of aminopoly- noted, but the quality of the paper is poor. the Westphal balance, polarimeter, Beck-
mann differential thermometer, student’s
carboxylic acids in forming complexes of H. A. LAI TINE N
potentiometer, colorimeter, spectropho-
simple wide variety and
with a composition of metal stability
great ions. His University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois tometer, even a Sprengel pycnometer.
later discovery, in 1949, of the first metal Another helpful feature is that the au-
ion indicator, analogous to the familiar thor is not hesitant in making references to
acid-base indicators for hydrogen ion, laid more elaborate sources such as Weiss-
the foundation for the development of this PHYSICO CHEMICAL EXPERIMENTS berger, Kolthoff & Sandell, McDougall,
important new type of titrimetry. Pro- Moore, and Guggenheim & Prue. Many
Robert Livingston, Professor of Physi-
fessor Irving is well known for his exten- original sources are mentioned in the litera-
cal Chemistry, University of Minnesota. ture as well as other monographs.
sive fundamental work on the structures Third edition. The Macmillan Co., New
and stabilities of chelate complexes, es- This is an excellent laboratory manual.
York, 1957, xiv -f- 273 pp. 69 figs. It. includes a fine range of 42 experiments
pecially those involved in precipitation and 11 tables. 14 X 21 cm. $4.50
extraction of metals with organic reagents. covering all fields of elementary physical
An outstanding feature of this book is This is the third edition of a very use- chemistry. These are all well set up with
the logical and systematic treatment of the ful laboratory manual in physical chem- a concise theoretical introduction, an
itemized list of apparatus and materials,
equilibria involved in visual titrations, istry. It was first published in 1939 and
revised in 1948. To undertake a critical and successive sections on procedure and
using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
(EDTA)acid and to a minor extent nitrilotri- re-evaluation every nine years indicates computations.
acetic (NTA) as reagents. The alertness in a field that is constantly in a S. J. VELLENGA
equilibria include (a) formation of the state of flux as regards its emphases. Muskingum College
complex between metal ion and reagent, The manual is very well adapted to the New Concord, Ohio
(6) effect of pH on the reagent, (c) the first year course in liberal arts colleges
formation of complexes with secondary where no graduate department of chem-
complexing agents, such as ammonia, (d) istry is at hand. So often equipment is
the formation of complexes between the limited in these institutions. Elaborate
metal ion and indicator ion, and (e) the MISES AU POINT DE CHIMIE
experiments require such extensive re-
effect of pH on the indicator. The effects vision that an instructor is encouraged to ANALYTIQUE PURE ET APPLIQUEE ET
of pH are logically considered in terms of write his own procedures. This manual D#ANALYSE BROMATOLOGIQUE.
competition between hydrogen ions and has much to commend it in that enough VOLUME IV
metal ions for the reagent or indicator an- variety of experiments is at hand to Edited by J. A. Gautier, Professor of the
ion. Thus the reciprocals of the usual accommodate any respectable laboratory.
Faculty of Pharmacy of Paris. Masson et
stepwise ionization constants of an acid are Two new experiments have been added, Cie, Paris, 1956. 212 pp. 21 figs.
regarded as the formation constants of the one on the determination of dipole moment 16.5 X 25 cm. Paper bound, 2400 fr.
hydrogen ion *
'complexes” of the anion. and another on the determination of trans-
The effect of secondary' complexing agents ference numbers by the moving boundary The fourth volume of these progress re-
is considered in terms of competition be- method. The omission of the classic ports deals mostly with methods of in-
tween reagent anion, the indicator, and Victor Meyer determination of molecular terest to the biochemists and the food
secondary complexing agents for the metal weight will cause some disma}', but the chemists. It should be interesting to
ion. It might appear that such an array author makes a good case for its dismissal, Americans for the reason that one may ex-
of equilibria would be most cumbersome to even though he retains the equally classic pect reasonably complete coverage of the
handle. However, with the unifying treat- but more simple Dumas determination. French literature and possibly of the liter
ment. and the simplifying assumptions There are several commendable features. ature from Latin countries.
VOLUME 35, NO. 5, MAY, 1958 267