This practical manual is devised for organic chemists and biochemists
who, in the course of their researches and without previous experience,
need to determine an ionization constant. We are gratified that earlier
editions were much used for this purpose and that they also proved
adequate for the in- service training of technicians and technical
officers to provide a Department with a pK service. The features of
previous editions that gave this wide appeal have been retained, but the
subject matter has been revised, extended, and brought up to date. We
present two new chapters, one of which describes the determination of
the stability constants of the complexes which organic ligands form with
metal cations. The other describes the use of more recently introduced
techniques for the determination of ionization constants, such as Raman
and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, thermometric titrations,
and paper electro- phoresis. Chapter 1 gives enhanced help in choosing
between alternative methods for determining ionization constants. The
two chapters on potentiometric methods have been extensively revised in
the light of newer understanding of electrode processes and of the
present state of the art in instrumen tation.