Book Reviews

Adsorption and Chromatography. By HAROLD GOMES CASSIDY, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Vol. V of Technique of Organic Chemistry, Edited by ARNOLD WEISSBERGER. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, N. Y., 1951. xx + 360 pp. Price $7.99.

In this book, Dr. Cassidy has tried to bring together and to correlate the avail- able information about adsorption and chromatography in such a way that it may be used in application to the problems of organic chemistry in the same manner that knowledge of solubilities and boiling points is used when crystallization and distillation processes are applied. The opening chapters deal with the properties and peculiarities of most types of interfaces. The discussion then tends more and more to those topics which are of importance in chromatographic processes and ends with a description of classical chromatography, ion exchange, and partition chromatography. The work is not intended to be encyclopedic nor, on the other hand, is it designed as a laboratory manual, although the last chapter (9 pages) suggests experiments by means of which one may familiarize himself with ad- sorption methods.

The book probably will be most useful to those who have some experience in ad- sorption methods and chromatography and wish to become acquainted with the many ramifications of the subject. The experienced worker will find many useful compilations such as are given in chap. III (Relations Between Relative Ad- sorbability and.Properties of Phases), in chap. IV (Relations Between Relative Extent of Adsorption and Properties of Adsorptive), in chap. V (Graded Eluents and Adsorbents), and in chap. VII (Lists of Adsorbents). He is less likely to find unfamiliar information in chaps. VIII, IX, and X. On the other hand, the novice will find ample instruction in the methodology of batchwise adsorption and de- colorization in chap. VII, of chromatography in chap. VIII, of ion-exchange methods in chap. IX, and of partition chromatography in chap. X. In these chapters, much practical information and many of the factors which must be con- sidered, compromised, and coordinated in order to obtain satisfactory chromato- grams are set forth.

The reviewer would like to bring to the potential reader’s attention a few instances in which he feels that amplification or additional references would have been desirable.

In the chapter on chromatography and in numerous places throughout the book (pp. 69, 122, 171, 173, 210, 220, and 223), the impression is gained, although supporting references often are not quoted, that isotherms are unimportant in chromatography because it is probably not an equilibrium process, that linear iso- therms are almost nonexistent, and that the chromatographic behavior of a com- pound depends upon the mixture in which it may be. A relevant paper which treats of these topics and which presents a far-reaching experimental study of chromatographic theory is that of Trueblood and Malmberg [J. Am. &em. Sot. 72, 4112 (1959)] and it is unfortunate that it could not have been included or referred to.

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Because “Silica, or silicic acid, reagent grade, is finding a great many applica- tions in chromatography” (p. 197), reference to an article on the properties of this material as a chromatographic adsorbent [Ad. Chem. 21, 1055 (1949)] would have been very relevant. The discussion of “Adsorption and the Shapes of Mole- cules” (p. 129) should have taken into consideration the stereoisomeric carotenoids and diphenylpolyenes as well as the linear and nonlinear polynuclear hydrocarbons which are discussed only in relation to adsorption and polarizability (p, 144). It cannot be denied that adsorption may cause reactions (p. 187) but it must be pointed out that the contention of Gillam and El Ridi that adsorption isomerises carotenoids (p. 256) ‘has long been disproved by the work of Zechmeister which is quoted in the sentence following that which refers to the work of Gillam and El Ridi. The work of Moore and Stein ought to have been considered under “Amino Acids” (p. 122) and that of Brooks and Badger [J. Am. Chem. Sot. 73, 1705 and 4384 (1950)] on nitrocelluloses under “Carbohydrates” (p. 123). Throughout chap. IV, “relative extent of adsorption” might have been more straightforwardly called “relative adsorption affinity.” In the legend of Fig. 11-5, “PLAWM trough” is left undefined.

It is satisfying to have it mentioned (p. 313) that questions are being raised as to the actual mechanism of so-called partition chromatography in columns or on paper. However, mention of this topic is brief and reference might well have been made to the excellent discussion by Craig and Craig in Vol. III of this series. Martin in Annual Reviews of Biochemistry (1950) presents a rebuttal for those who doubt that partition chromatography is truly partition. In view of Moore and Stein’s doubt that partition plays an important role in the separation of amino acids on starch, this point should have been stressed especially because their procedure is described under “Partition Chromatography.”

Much of the above criticism stems from the reviewer’s uncertainty as to the extent to which the recent literature has been covered. It is unfortunate that the author nowhere has stated to what date the literature has been considered in choosing information for inclusion. It was noted that in certain sections articles which appeared only a few months prior to publication of the book were cited whereas in others older and pertinent references were ignored or apparently un- known to the author. The reader can, therefore, never be certain whether or not very recent pertinent information has been included.

The book is well printed on good paper and the few typographical errors are unimportant. The index of 15 pages is adequate but the value of the book is greatly reduced by the unsatisfactory cross references. Thus, statements to the effect that a given subject is discussed “above,” “below,” or “in chap. VIII” (which contains 60 pages) leave one with a sense of frustration.

W. A. SCHROEDER, Pasadena, California

Advances in Catalysis and Related Subjects. Vol. IV. Edited by W. G. FRANLEN-

BURG, Lancaster, Pa.; V. I. KOMAREWSKY, Chicago, Ill.; and E. K. RIDEAL, Lon- don, England. Academic Press, Inc., New York, N. Y., 1952, xi + 457 pp. Price $9.50.

There is perhaps no single phenomenon in the whole domain of chemistry which has such a definite and decisive impact on the production, analysis, and utilization of chemicals as catalysis.