Description
Analytical techniques are powerful tools in a chemist’s armoury. Spectroscopic data and chemical information are used routinely in laboratories to follow a chemical reaction or elucidate a chemical structure. However, the sophistication of the analytical techniques used changes rapidly, hence the routinely used method of today can all too readily be superseded by the new technology of tomorrow. This work identifies some applications of chemical techniques that are less well known in schools and colleges and which illustrate how chemistry is using state-of-the-art technology to push back the frontiers of the subject. Examples include: elemental analysis such as atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma techniques; separations including electrophoresis, structure determination (eg x-ray diffraction and optical microscopy); and sampling and sample preparation.
