Analytical Chemistry

Biography

Tadeusz MichaÅ‚owski is a chemist and physicist, by education. He was a professor at Jagiellonian University and Cracow University of Technology, Poland; now retired. He (a) discovered  Generalized Electron Balance (GEB), considered as the law of Nature, formulated (b) GATES/GEB, as the best thermodynamic approach to electrolytic redoxsystems, (c) generalized equivalent mass (GEM), and (d) Equilibrium Law, as the counterproposal for mass action law. His activity concerned analytical chemistry, electrochemistry, electroanalysis and chemometrics. His scientific activity was reckoned among the main achievements in Analytical Chemistry in Poland.  Author of ca 200 papers, articles, chapters and several books.

Abstract

Calculation of solubility of solid phases as precipitates in aqueous media occupies a prominent place in scientific literature. However, the erroneous patterns of reasoning and simplifications made in textbooks, e.g. in J. Chem. Educ., as well as in didactic materials offered in the Internet, based on the schemas resulting from the ubiquitous stoichiometry of the reaction are unacceptable, and give incorrect results. This kind of the subject knowledge was clearly confirmed in the series of relevant challenges, organized in Anal. Bioanal. Chem. Note that the active participants of the challengeswere not students, but scientists, in general. The correct approach, based on the rules of conservation and detailed physicochemical/thermodynamic knowledge on the system considered is realizable according to generalized approach to electrolytic systems, presented. All the qualitative and quantitative knowledge is involved in the balances and independent expressions for the equilibrium constants.