Abstract
METHODS for the detection of a trace of a compound dissolved in water may be made very sensitive if that compound can be concentrated by adsorption at an interface. Thus an almost infinitesimal quantity of grease, adsorbed on a metal or mineral surface, is readily detected by its effect on the displacement of water from that surface by air1. Very sensitive tests for copper, lead and cyanide ions were also discovered in the course of an investigation of the basic principles of the notation process. Though these are not specific, they seem worth recording in illustration of a method that may sometimes be useful.
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References
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SUTHERLAND, K. Use of Adsorption Processes for the Detection of “Traces". Nature 145, 553 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145553b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145553b0
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