Electroanalysis in Russia and Belorussia

Abstract

The aim of this topical cluster is to draw attention of electroanalytical audience to Russian and Belorussian electroanalytical schools. Some of these schools are known due to their publications in international journals, some are less known. Unfortunately, even the call for a special issue did not raise significant submission activity. Soviet electrochemistry school is known internationally; the main contributions were made by A. N. Frumkin and V(B).G. Levich. A. N. Frumkin, recognized as a founder of soviet electrochemical school, also founded both the chair of electrochemistry in M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Institute of Electrochemistry. The latter recently joined to Institute of Physical Chemistry. A. N. Frumkin’s impact to electrochemistry is due to both theoretical and experimental achievements. It’s not surprising that one of the most prestigious awards of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) is the Frumkin Memorial Medal. V(B).G. Levich contributed to electrochemistry with his hydrodynamic theory inventing the rotating disk electrode as a hydrodynamic tool for investigation of electrode kinetics. Electroanalysis was growing in a close relation to fundamental electrochemistry. For instance, the background of the famous Frumkin theory on persulfate reduction was the requirement to detect this anion. As everywhere, electroanalysis in USSR was developed due to detection of transition metals by stripping voltammetry (Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Tomsk, Kazan) and potentiometry (Minsk). More recently, an “electronic tongue” on the basis of a set of potentiometric sensors was elaborated (St. Petersburg). A significant contribution to both fundamental and analytical electrochemistry was the discovery of the direct bioelectrocatalysis operating according to the direct (mediator-free) electron exchange between the electrode and the active site of the immobilized enzyme (Moscow). I believe that the present topical cluster will raise attention of Russian electrochemists to Electroanalysis and further involve them in electroanalytical audience. 1 Arkardy A. Karyakin