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Measuring herbicides in drinking water
It’s springtime in the northern hemisphere, and with rising temperatures comes increased use of herbicides on agricultural crops and in public spaces. In March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a report which stated that one such...
Photometric complexometric titration
…and how to choose the right wavelength for indicationComplexometric titration was discovered in 1945 when Gerold Schwarzenbach observed that aminocarboxylic acids form stable complexes with metal ions, which can change their color by addition of an indicator. From...
A History of Chemistry – Part 4
This article is the final installment in our four-part series on the history of chemistry. Did you miss the others? Don’t worry – you can find them all here:The industrialization of electrochemistry Michael Faraday (1791–1867) had a modest upbringing. He was 14 years...
What to consider during back-titration
Titrations can be classified in various ways: by their chemical reaction (e.g., acid-base titration or redox titration), the indication method (e.g., potentiometric titration or photometric titration), and last but not least by their titration principle (direct...
A History of Chemistry – Part 3
This article is the third in our four-part series on the history of chemistry. Missed the first two? Don’t worry – you can read both of them here:Chemistry and society: An explosive pair It is the early 19th century, and industrialization in Europe is in full swing....
Titer determination in Karl Fischer Titration
In a recent post, we have discussed the importance of titer determinations for potentiometric titrations.Without a titer determination, you will not obtain correct results. The same applies for volumetric Karl Fischer (KF) titrations. In this blog post, I will cover...
A History of Chemistry – Part 2
This article is the second in our four-part series on the history of chemistry. Missed the first one? Don’t worry – you can read it here: The return to atomism and the rise of modern chemistry In 1808, John Dalton (1766–1844) published his book entitled «A New System...
FAQ: All about pH calibration
In a recent blog post, we discussed how to avoid the most common mistakes in pH measurement:Here, I want to discuss in a bit more detail how you can correctly calibrate your pH electrode and what you have to consider to obtain the best measurement results afterwards...
A History of Chemistry – Part 1
Chemistry – a natural science? For a long time, chemistry was a discipline which lagged behind other natural sciences. The human desire for cheating death and overcoming poverty was just too strong for people to abandon the promises of alchemy and embark into the...
Why consider automation – even for simple titrations
If you are reading this blog post, you are most likely already familiar with the general principles of potentiometric titration. Although chromatographic and spectroscopic methods are preferred in many labs, titration is still “the” method for analysis of all kinds of...