January, 1979 THE ANALYST ViiAnnual Reportson AnalyticalAtomicSpectroscopyVOLUME 7, 1977This comprehensive and critical reportof developments in analytical atomicspectroscopy has been compiled fromover 1700 reports received from world-wide correspondents who are inter-nationally recognised authorities in thefield and who constitute the EditorialBoard. In addition to surveying de-velopments throughout the worldpublished in national or internationaljournals, a particular aim has been toinclude less widely accessible reportsfrom local, national and internationalsymposia and conferences concernedwith atomic spectroscopy.Clothbound 300pp 8;" x 6" €1 7.50(CS Members f 13.00)(Still a vailable: Vo/s 3-6covering 7973 to 7976)Obtainable from: The ChemicalSociety, Distribution Centre,Blackhorse Road, Letchworth,Herts., SG6 I HNVERLAG CHEMIEI I II I+ q O l 5 n m A O,Ol%inrndWavelength ----Atomic AbsorptionSpectroscopyby Bernhard WelzThis volume is an English-language edition ofthe second edition of a highly successful Germanbook on the technique.After an introductory chapter on the physical-spectroscopical principles, a knowledge of whichis required for an understanding of the funda-mentals of atomic absorption, instrumentationand technique are treated in further chapters.Here, the analyst will find the necessary know-how for complete command of the method.Finally,short sections are devoted to the individualelements and to various specific applications.Comprehensive bibliographical references areprovided.The lucid, almost tabular. presentationnowhere allows the reader to become lost inminutiae, and the narrow interweaving of theoryand practice will be greatly appreciated.B r ief contentsIntroduction; Light Sources;Atomization; Optics;Electronics and Readout; Technique; RelatedAnalytical Methods; The Individual Elements;Specific Applications.Clothbound 277pp 98'' x 7" 3 527 25680 6 f20.00Orders to: THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY,Distribution Centre, Blackhorse Road,Letchworth, Herts. SG6 1 HN...V l l l SUMMARIES OF PAPERS I N THIS ISSUEDetermination of Ammonia in Low Concentrations withNessler's Reagent by Flow Injection AnalysisA turbidimetric procedure for the determination of ammonia in low concentra-tions with the use of Nessler's reagent is described.Both natural watersand soil extracts can be analysed a.t a rate of up to 120 samples per hourwith good precision and accuracy. The effects of reagent composition, flow-rate, temperature and protective c'olloids in the flow injection system arediscussed in detail.Keywords : Flow injection analysis ; ammonia determination ; Nessler'sJanuary, I979reagent ; turbidimetric determination ; continuous-$ow measurementF. J. KRUG, J. ReZIkKA and E. H. HANSENChemistry Department A, Technical University of Denmark, Building 207, DK-2800Lyngby, Denmark.Analyst, 1979, 104, 47-54.Determination of Chloride in High-purity Waters in the Range0-20 pg 1-1 of Chloride Using Ion-selective MembraneElectrodes Incorporating Mercury( I) ChlorideTwo types of solid-state mercury(1) chloride electrodes have been used todetermine chloride in the concentration range 0-20 pgl-l.At these lowconcentrations, more chloride will dissolve from the mercury (I) chloride inthe electrode than is present in the sample itself. The extent of the dissolu-tion is controlled, however, by the chloride in the sample. In these circum-stances, the electrode potential is linearly related t o the concentration ofchloride in the sample. With the electrode housed in a flow cell with athermostatically controlled water jacket, the correlation coefficient betweene.m.f. and concentration was alwa.ys greater than 0.99. The sensitivity(0.18 mV per pg 1-1 of chloride a t 25 "C and 0.4-0.5 mV per pg 1-1 of chlorideat 4 "C) was about ten times greater than that of the silver - silver chlorideelectrode.Total standard deviations a t 10, 5 and 2 pgl-l of chloride were0.4, 0.5 and 0.3 pg 1-1 of chloride, respectively.Keywords : Chloride determination ; ion-selective electrodes ; mercury(1)chloride electrodes ; high-purity zmtersG. B, MARSHALL and D. MIDGLEYCentral Electricity Research Laboratories, Kelvin Avenue, Leatherhead, Surrey,KT22 7SE.Analyst, 1979, 104, 55-62.Assessment of Glass Electrodes for Determining pH inBoiler :Feed WaterSix types of commercial glass electrodes have been tested in the laboratoryfor their suitability for measuring p;H in ammonia-dosed boiler feed water ofmoderately low specific conductiv:ity (about 5 pS cm-l).The electrodeswere chosen to represent the range of pH-sensitive glasses available. All ofthe electrodes showed a near-theoretical sensitivity, had stable standardpotentials and responded sufficiently quickly. In the dilute ammoniasolutions, however, the electrodes indicated pH values that could differ byas much as 0.3 pH unit when the :solution was flowing slowly through themeasuring cell. When the solution was stirred the maximum bias was0.05 pH unit. For most industrial purposes, the differences in performancebetween the various types of electrode are unimportant and glass electrodesare less of a problem than reference electrodes for pH measurements in thistype of water.Keywords : pH determination ; glass electrodes ; boiler feed-waterD. MIDGLEY and K.TORRANCECentral Electricity Research Laboratories, Kelvin Avenue, Leatherhead, Surrey,KT22 7SE.Analyst, 1979, 104, 63-73Januavy, 1.979 SUMMARIES OF PAPERS I N THIS ISSUEPolarographic Study of Aflatoxins B,, B,, G, and G,: Applicationof Differential-pulse Polarography to the Determination ofAflatoxin B, in Various FoodstuffsixThe polarographic behaviour of aflatoxins B,, B,, G, and G, has been investi-gated and found to parallel closely that of coumarin and its derivatives.Diff erential-pulse polarography has been applied to the determination ofaflatoxin B, in a variety of food products. Good agreement was obtainedbetween the diff erential-pulse polarographic method and visual comparisonof the fluorescence exhibited by the aflatoxin following thin-layer chromato-graphic separation.Electroactive interferences co-extracted from highlipid-containing foods were removed by separation on a Sephadex LH-20column.Keywovds : Aflatoxin determination ; differential-pulse polarography ; foodMALCOLM R. SMYTH, DAVID W. LAWELLIN and JANET G. OSTER-YOUNGDepartment of Microbiology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. 80523,USA.Analyst, 1979, 104, 73-78.analysisDetermination of S- Methylmethionine in Plant Products byUse of an Automatic Amino - acid AnalyserShort PaperKeywords : S-Methylvnethionine determination ; amino-acid analyser ; plantproductsE. G. KOVATCHEVADepartment of Analytical Chemistry, Higher Institute of Food Technology, Lenin26, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.Analyst, 1979, 104, 79-81.Determination of Bifunctional Compounds4-Iodobutaneboronic Acid as a Selective Reagent forthe Trace Determination of Bifunctional CompoundsPart IV.Shovt PaperKeywords : Gas chromatography with electron-capture detection ; bifunctionalcompounds ; cyclic boronic estevs ; 4-iodobutaneboronic acidC.F. POOLE, S. SINGHAWANGCHA and A. ZLATKISDepartment of Chemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004, USA.Analyst, 1979, 104, 82-86.Spectrophotometric Determination of Silver with Ammonium2- Cyano-3-iminodithiobutyrateShort PaperKeywords : Silver determination ; spectrofihotovnetry ; ammonium 2-cyano-3-iminodithiobutyrate ; silver complexMOTOMU MURAOKA and TATSUO YAMAMOTODepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Josai University, Keyaki-Dai,Sakado-Shi, 350-02, Japan.and TATSUO TAKESHIMADepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiba University, Yayoi-Cho,Chiba-Shi, 280, Japan.Analyst, 1979, 104, 87-90X THE ANALYST January, 1979AN ALYTl C A L S C I E N C ES M 0 N 0 G RAP H SHigh-Precision Titrimetr,yby C.Woodward and H. N. RedmanThis monograph was written in the hope that it will prove both helpful and interesting topractising analytical chemists.Brief contentsThe first section, on visual titrations, covers apparatus, preparation and assay of standardsubstances and preparation of standard solutions.The second section deals with instrumented titrations, including photometric and electro-metric techniques as well as miscellaneous instrumented methods.There are 83 key references to the literature on high-precision titrimetry.Paperbound 71 pp 83” x 6” 0 85990 501 2 f 2.50 ($5.50)CS Members f2.00The Chemical Analysis of WaterGeneral Principles a Techniquesby A.L. WilsonThe volume covers all stages of the complete analytical process including: deciding on theanalytical information required; sampling, including place, time and frequency, as well asdevices and techniques; the analysis proper and the reporting of results, their statisticaltreatment, and the factors involved in the choice of analytical methods (including on-lineand automatic methods) for particular purposes; and data handling.Clothbound 196pp f 7.50 ( $1 6.50)CS Members f5.7583” x 6;” 0 85990 502 0Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatographyby R.W. May, E. F. Pearson and D. ScothernMany papers have been published, particularly over the past decade, on aspects of pyrolysis-gas chromatography. A large number of different types of apparatus have been used, on awide range of samples. This monograph attempts to present the available knowledge in aform useful to the practising analyst, helping in the choice of an appropriate method and inthe avoidance of the more common pitfalls in this, perhaps deceptively, simple technique.Clothbound 11 7pp f7.20 ($1 5.75)CS Members f5.508%“ x 6“ 0 85186 767 7Electrothermal Atomization forAtomic Absorption Spectrometryby C. W. FullerSince the introduction of atomic absorption spectrometry as an analytical technique, byWaIsh, in 1953, the use of alternative atomization sources to the flame has been explored.At the present time the two most successful alternatives appear to be the electrothermalatomizer and the inductively-coupled plasma. In this book an attempt has been made toprovide the author’s views on the historical development, commercial design features, theory,practical considerations, analytical parameters of the elements, and areas of application ofelectrothermal atomization.Clothbound 135pp f 6.75( $1 4.75)CS Members f5.008:’ x 5.;’’ 0 851 86 777 4Dithizoneby H. M. N. H. IrvingThe author of this monograph, who has been closely associated with the development ofanalytical techniques using this reagent for many years, and who has made extensiveinvestigations into the properties of its compllexes, has gathered together a body of historicaland technical data that will be of interest to many practising analytical chemists.Clothbound I 1 2pp f7.25 ($1 6.00)CS Members f5.508%’’ x 59” 0 85186 787 1THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY,Distribution Centre, Blackhorse Road, Letchworth,Herts., SG6 IHN, England