Introduction to the Book

Analytical Chemistry is intended to be an unintimidating, student-friendly text covering all of the mainstream analytical techniques encountered both within undergraduate chemistry programmes and masters degrees. It is hoped that the text will also be of benefit to students embarking on research careers through PhD or other research degree programmes who might want an introduction to techniques they are unfamiliar with.

The motivation for writing this book arose from watching many bewildered students trying, or rather struggling, to find information from within the many well written but simply mammoth analytical chemistry textbooks on the library bookshelves. It struck me that there was a real need for a text that allowed students to grasp information quickly, in a user friendly format. I tried hard to find such a text but failed, and so finally decided to write this book!

The need for a text of this type has become more apparent as time has progressed, since undergraduate syllabi both in Europe and the US have given progressively more importance to analytical chemistry as a subject in its own right. This trend has been mirrored in degrees such as biochemistry, forensic science, and many others in which analytical chemistry plays a key role.

Analytical chemistry clearly encompasses other areas of chemistry: physical chemistry, for example, is especially relevant to the way in which many measurements are made, while aspects of the subject directly relate to the analysis of inorganic or organic compounds. By its very nature, analytical chemistry is a generic discipline, and overlaps the realms of biotechnology, forensic science, physics, materials science and many other subject areas.

This book introduces the basis of many contemporary analytical techniques by means of an integrated approach. Even if, as a student, you have no intention of entering the field of analytical chemistry, it is hoped that this book will help you understand the nature of analytical chemistry and how it is performed. It is also hoped the material may even help make more sense of, and be of relevance to, some of the physical, inorganic and organic chemistry that you may already be familiar with.

It is often overlooked that more chemistry students end up working in the field of analytical chemistry than in any other branch of the subject. It is a truly dynamic and exciting area of science, and one that impacts upon all of our lives, every day. Above all I hope that this book inspires budding analysts to be enthused about the subject. If this happens then I will have achieved what I set out to do.