Some incidental kinetic aspects in analytical chemistry. Plenary lecture

Abstract

Although analytical chemistry textbooks have steadily made room for chapters on kinetic-based determinations, the impact of kinetics on less obvious situations or in instances where the kinetics is incidental is not well recognised. Focusing on two well established general areas of analytical chemistry (absorption spectrometry and electrode reactions), this Plenary Lecture attempts to emphasise the relevance of incidental kinetics to thermodynamic reversibility, thermodynamic irreversibility, steady-state processes and competitive reactions (processes). The rationale is oriented to project that: (a) both the kinetic and equilibrium regions of all physico-chemical processes have kinetic connotations, (b) the rate-limiting step plays a key role in connection with the time window for measurement, and (c) the neglect of back reactions (processes) is only justified after analysing the kinetics of the different processes involved in some detail. The considerations presented are offered as a result of the conviction that “…analytical techniques or approaches, if scrutinised closely are perceived to be kinetic in nature or to involve key kinetic components.”