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Analytical Chemistry in Hungary E. Pungor Institute for General and Analytical Chemistry, Technical University Budapest, H-1111, Budapest, Hungary
Analytische Chemic in Ungarn Zusammenfassung, Ein (Jberblick fiber Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der analytischen Chemic in Ungarn wird gegeben. Die Ver6ffentlichungen ungarischer Autoren werden kurz besprochen und die Beziehungen zur internationalen Entwicklung werden diskutiert.
Summary. The past and present state of analytical chemistry in Hungary are reviewed in this paper. The publications by Hungarian authors are briefly analysed and the relationship of Hungarian and international activity in the field is discussed.
Historical The beginnings of analytical chemistry in Hungary go back to the time of King Robert Charles who passed a decree in 1342 - as pointed out by Szabadvfiry [1] - according to which a royal gold examiner had to work in the mining towns to assess the carat-value of the gold. In the 15th century municipal gold examiners appeared in addition to the royal ones. Later on this activity increased, and in the first half of the 18th century King Charles III founded a school at Selmecbfinya to train examiners. The school received the rank of academy from Empress Maria Theresia in 1763. This was the first school in the world to provide laboratory courses in analytical chemistry. As is known from documents of the time the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris took this form of teaching as a model. The person whose activity made the greatest impact on the development of analytical chemistry was Kfiroly Than, in the 19th century, who excelled, not only in introducing a physicochemical approach to the teaching [2] of analytical chemistry, but also in developing new standards of volumetric analysis, e.g. KHCO3 as an acidimetric and KH(IO3)2 as an iodometric standard. The introduction of the concept of ionic equivalence, cation-anion balance in water analysis, and investigations of COS are also associated with Than's name. From among his pupils Lajos Winkler had earned worldwide reputation by his thesis, which included the method of the determination of oxygen in waters which is still used. Winkler also thoroughly studied the solubility of gases, introduced the concept of error compensation in gravimetric analysis - to mention only his most important contributions. He also helped in compiling the Hungarian Pharmacopoeia which corresponded to the knowledge of the time. Winkler's contemporary, who was also Than's pupil, Lajos Ilosvay introduced a selective organic reagent for the
determination of nitrite and nitrate by improving the Griess reaction. Several other of Than's pupils contributed to the development of analytical chemistry and initiated new concepts in the field. For example Vince Wartha and IgnAc Pfeiffer developed the method for the accurate determination of water hardness, Frigyes Konek was first to use digestion with Na202, Istv/m GylSri initiated the use of KBrO3 as an oxidimetric reagent, and PAl Szily should be mentioned, who was cited by S6rensen and was the first to use phosphate buffer in the colorimetric determination of hydrogen ion concentration, a method he himself developed [1]. As has already been mentioned, the most outstanding member of Than's school was Lajos Winkler, who himself trained a number of good analytical chemists. A pre-eminent representative of Winkler's school was Elem6r Schulek, whose very first works concerning the analysis of halogens, interhalogens and pseudohalogens aroused the interest of analytical chemists. Kolthoff's book "Mass analysis" [3] contained several methods developed by the young Schulek. In the 1920s Schulek's interest turned from inorganic to organic analysis owing to the fact that he was appointed head of state pharmaceutical control, but later, after being appointed professor at the P6ter Pfizmfiny University of Sciences, he returned to his previous subjects, with halogen and sulphur compounds as the centre of his activity. Another noteworthy member of Winkler's school was L/tszl6 Szebell6dy, to whom we owe coulometry, an extension of the analytical application of catalytic reactions, and several bromometric indicators. His early death was a great loss to Hungarian analytical chemistry. Basic work was done in the theory of chromatography by Zechmeister and Cholnoky. A number of scientists, Hungarian by birth, have gained a reputation by their contributions to the development of modern chromatography, e.g. Ervin Kov/tcs (Switzerland), Istv/m HalAsz (FRG), Csaba Horvfith (USA), to mention only a few. In the field of thermal analysis L/tszl6 Erdey, Ferenc Paulik and Jen6 Paulik earned fame by introducing combined measuring techniques, and Istv/m Saj 6 by developing modern equipment and a number of methods in direct enthalpimetry. Hevesy, who developed the radioactive tracer technique, and several other scientists all over the world, who are Hungarian by birth, maintain contact with Hungarian science.
Present Organization of Analytical Chemistry in Hungary The number of people involved in analytical chemistry is estimated at 2,000- 3,000, the majority working as practical Fresenius Z Anal Chem (1984) 317:841 844 9 Springer-Verlag 1984
analytical chemists, with the others being involved in analytical research. There is a two-level, partly overlapping organization in Hungary for the purpose of informing the former group about new developments, and for aiding the everyday work of the latter group. The Analytical Committee works within the Chemistry Division of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences co-ordinating research work through seven working parties, as follows: Working Working Working Working Working Working Working
Party Party Party Party Party Party Party
for for for for for for for
Electroanalytical Chemistry Spectrochemistry Thermal Analysis Chromatography Radioanalytical Chemistry Automatic Analysis Organic and Pharmaceutical Analysis.
In 1980 these working parties had 146 members, but in addition about 100 research scientists were also invited to the meetings. The Committee for Analytical Chemistry consists of the presidents of the working parties as well as acknowledged analytical chemists. This committee intends to effect the direction of research primarily through the working parties, and also on occasions to evaluate the work done. Thus, for example in the early 1970s the Committee considered the intensification of the research in automatic analysis to be very important with respect to the development of research and methodology in analytical chemistry as a whole, and decided to set up the Working Party for Automatic Analysis for the co-ordination of research in the field of computer-controlled automated analysis and of techniques where mathematical methods are most widely used. The newly organized working party also had the task of co-operating with other working parties through joint meetings and discussions to help spread these techniques. The concept has been justified by the favourable developments which have taken place during the past ten years. The working parties organize meetings and conferences to discuss scientific problems. Between 1975 and 1980 there were 79 meetings (about 16 per year) and 22 conferences ( 4 - 5 per year). The meetings can be considered as real scientific workshops. The Analytical Division of the Hungarian Chemical Society has objectives of quite a different nature. Its main task is to provide practical analytical chemists with information about new research developments. The Analytical Division has 11 specialized groups, with about 2,300 members. These groups are either problem-oriented or method-oriented. The group for mass spectrometry and that for thermal analysis are examples of the first type, whereas the groups for rock analysis or metal analysis are examples of the second. The group for clinical analysis is being organized at the moment. Experts from the Analytical Working Parties of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are among the leaders of the specialized groups of the Hungarian Chemical Society and take an active part in organizing small meetings dealing with problems and new developments in the relevant fields. The Analytical Division holds a two-day joint meeting annually with participation of all the specialized groups. Every second year all the groups hold separate meetings simultaneously to deal with special problems, while in other years the general problems and new trends in analytical chemistry are dealt with by invited lecturers, acknowledged experts in this field. The impact of these meetings is nicely 842
reflected in the rapid introduction of new directions of analytical chemistry in Hungary. The two, partly overlapping organizations have initiated significant development in the field during the past thirteen years, although development is related to teaching, international relations in science as well as to the growth of instrumentation. The Teaching of Analytical Chemistry Teaching analytical chemistry, even half a century ago, was not an easy task. Qualitative analysis constituted the fundamental part of analytical chemistry which, even then, was an extension of knowledge in inorganic chemistry from a new aspect. The basic knowledge in analytical chemistry was concerned with reactions of inorganic compounds, but some organic chemistry was also necessary. In most universities the teaching of physical chemistry followed analytical chemistry, therefore some basic concepts, such as acid-base, precipitation, redox and complex equilibria, the elementary processes involved in the formation of a separate phase and some reaction kinetics were taught within the framework of analytical chemistry. Obviously a chemist only became an analytical chemist after several years training in an analytical laboratory. Nowadays the teaching of analytical chemistry is a more complex task. The range of fundamental knowledge necessary before analytical chemistry can be started, has been considerably extended. In addition to this, interest has been displaced towards organic analysis within the field of analytical chemistry itself. Modern analytical techniques require a remarkable knowledge in electronics, control engineering, mathematical and electronic means of solving signal/noise problems, computer programming, etc. In addition to this, however, as analytical chemistry has to meet the increasing demands of society, some experience in biology and other fields is also required for the proper planning of analytical work. As has been pointed out by the author recently [4, 5], all these have prompted some of us at different universities to introduce a system in which fundamental and general knowledge is provided in undergraduate and graduate teaching and analytical chemists are trained in the framework of special two-year post-graduate courses the participants of which must have at least two years experience. (A detailed description of the system of teaching is offered in ref. [5].) In addition, the position of analytical chemistry within the undergraduate teaching has had to be changed. In some universities in Hungary analytical chemistry has been deferred to later semesters, thus ensuring that the students learn the fundamentals of inorganic, organic and physical chemistry before starting analytical chemistry.
Present State of Research in Analytical Chemistry It is very difficult if at all possible to assess the efficiency of scientific research. Nevertheless, there are some characteristic data and signs that may be informative. One of these data is the number of publications, which, however, is not necessarily indicative of the standard of research. Starting in 1967, the Analytical Chemistry Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences regularly compiled a list of papers published by Hungarian scientists [6-8]. A survey, based on this, of the distribution of papers is presented in Table 1. Of the fields considered, spectrochemistry is the most complex. This
Table 1 Field
Spectrochemical analysis Chromatographic analysis Electrochemical analysis Thermal analysis Radiochemical analysis Classical analysis Automated analysis
Number of publications during 13 years
Average number of papers/year
number
%
1967-1970 (1)
1971 -1974 (2)
1975-1979 (3)
2,223 2,219 873 838 720 309 121
30 30 12 11 10 4 2
100 160 70 65 25 25 0
105 120 65 50 65 25 5
280 220 65 75 70 20 20
Table2. Distribution of publications on analytical chemistry in Hungary between 1967 and 1979 Field
Spectrochemical analysis Chromatographic analysis Electrochemical analysis Thermal analysis Radiochemical analysis Classical analysis Automated analysis
In Hungarian
In a foreign language
In important journals published abroad
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
45 45 40 30 35 45
50 50 29 29 45 63 80
40 50 45 20 35 64 45
55 55 60 70 65 55
50 50 71 71 55 37 20
60 50 55 80 65 36 55
15 8 13 18 9 27
20 20 20 12 7 15 10
15 13 18 15 5 12 7
includes emission techniques from spectrography through flame photometry, fluorescence analysis, mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence to electron spectroscopy, as well as absorption techniques from photometry to N M R and ESR techniques. The remarkable growth in the number of publications in the late 1970s is explained by the fact that the tardiness in the application of complex and expensive instruments was redressed at the beginning of the 1970s. The purchase of a number of such instruments promoted the development and enhanced the efficiency of analytical chemistry in Hungary. On comparing data in Table 1 with international data it can be seen that the distribution of papers in this country roughly corresponds to international trends with very little difference. Spectrochemistry and separation techniques are leading both in this country and abroad. A positive deviation appears in thermal and radiochemical analysis and a negative one in electroanalytical chemistry. The positive deviation from the international proportions might be due partly to the fact that in both fields international journals are published in Hungary (J. of Thermal Analysis, J. Radioanal. Chem., RadioanaI. Letters). The figures in Table 1 include papers which have appeared in conference proceedings. This also contributes to the high number of publications in the two most active fields, as most meetings and conferences in Hungary were organized on these subjects. Another criterion for assessing scientific activity may be the number of publications from Hungarian authors in journals of international repute. In Table2 I intened to present a survey of papers by Hungarian authors published in such journals.
As is shown by the data in Table 2 only a relatively small proportion of the papers appears in foreign journals of importance, and this is reflected in the fact that citation of papers by Hungarian researchers is much smaller than is to be expected considering the efficiency of the research work. The following figures are obtained on comparing the three periods evaluated: between 1967 and 1970 245, between 1971 and 1974 307, and between 1975 and 1979 525 papers appeared in foreign journals of importance. As is also shown by the data in Table 2 papers by Hungarian authors appear mostly in the international journals published in Hungary (see radioehemical and thermal analysis). The large number of papers appearing in Hungarian is also worth mentioning. The question arises as to whether it is worthwhile spending money on journals in Hungarian, the language of a small nation when knowledge of international languages is a requirement for all well-educated people. As I have already pointed out [9], it is absolutely necessary, in my opinion, in natural and technical sciences. The language of communication has to be developed in order to explain to non-qualified people in factories and laboratories what to do and how to do it. Therefore, the continual development of technical language is inevitable in small as well as in large countries. Journals appearing in the mother tongue are the most important forum for the progress of technical language. This is why the decision of Kfiroly Than and his contemporaries to start Magyar K6miai Foly6irat nearly 100 years ago is of great importance. Obviously, the journal plays a part in conveying new information to those who do not read international journals. Another journal, Magyar K6mikusok Lapja also contains a number of analytical procedures for technicians. A further criterion of the high standard of a 843
scientific field is whether it can produce research schools. In this respect there is still a lot to be done. However, I feel that there exist schools in the research of ion exchangers, in electroanalytical chemistry, primarily in research concerning ion-selective electrodes, in non-segmented flow analysis and in thermal analysis etc. The foundation of other schools is in progress. There are, for example, promising centres of organic analysis in Hungary.
Development of Instrumentation for Analytical Chemistry As has already been mentioned, a significant investment was begun in Hungary in the 1970s for the purchase of large expensive instruments. However, development in Hungary was also promoted by instruments of Hungarian make, whose construction was based on the achievements of analytical chemists working in this country. The rapid development of the production of chemical instruments in Hungary dates back to about 1957. However grotesque it may seem, progress in this field was greatly stimulated by the embargo. We were forced to construct instruments to solve our scientific and technical problems. At present the industries producing devices for electroanalysis and automated analysis are progressing rapidly, as a result of the research in the field of analytical chemistry. After a period of stagnation, the in-
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dustry producing thermoanalytical instruments has also begun to develope. The field of industrial monitors has just started, and hopefully, the industrial background will have a beneficial effect on its development. To help transmit information, industries producing instruments for chemistry founded a journal, Hungarian Scientific Instruments, which will be twenty years old in 1984.
References 1. Szabadvfiry F (1976) History of analytical chemistry in Hungary, Reviews on Analytical Chemistry, Euroanalysis II, Akad6miai Kiad6, pp 33-40 2. Than K (1904) Az elm+leti k~mia ujabb halad/ts/trol, Budapest. Az orvostanfir testfilet 6s a magyar orvosi k6nyvkiad6 t~irsulat. k6zSs kiadfisa (Novel progress of the theoretical chemistry, Budapest 1904, Edited by the medical professors association and the medical editorial house) 3. Kolthoff IM (1927) Die Massanalyse. Springer, Berlin 4. Pungor E, Meisel T (1979) Fresenius Z Anal Chem 297:294 5. Pungor E (1981) Fresenius Z Anal Chem 305:104 6. Pungor E (1972) K~miai K6zlem~nyek 38:301-456 7. Pungor E (1977) K+miai KSzlem6nyek 47:5-101 8. Pungor E (1982) K+miai K6zlem6nyek 58:1-101 Received August 12, 1983
