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7 - Specific ion effects

from Part I - Molecular forces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2011

Barry W. Ninham
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
Pierandrea Lo Nostro
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
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Summary

In collaboration with Drew F. Parsons.

(This chapter is more or less self-contained. It can be read independently of earlier chapters.)

Hofmeister effects in physical chemistry

Introduction

It will be clear by now that the theoretical edifice that deals with molecular forces in physical chemistry, built painstakingly over the past 150 years, is flawed. That there are defects and limitations in any theory we can live with. Of course there are. But the emerging picture from the preceding chapters is more disturbing. It seems that our intuition has become so seriously flawed that what ought to be the enabling discipline of physical chemistry has become impotent in the face of challenges posed by the biological sciences. To readers familiar with and schooled in the classical textbook literature, this claim is not easy to accept. And the burden of proof of a challenge to an established discipline lies with the proponent. So, in this chapter we recapitulate the standard literature ideas, and outline where they went off course. Then we revisit and pull together a number of examples from biology, some already mentioned, where it is clear that the standard theories fail. Then we outline our views on how it is that a reconciliation is on the way to being effected. How to fit Hofmeister effects into the scheme of things is a first issue.

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  • Specific ion effects
  • Barry W. Ninham, Australian National University, Canberra, Pierandrea Lo Nostro, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
  • Book: Molecular Forces and Self Assembly
  • Online publication: 06 January 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811531.008
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  • Specific ion effects
  • Barry W. Ninham, Australian National University, Canberra, Pierandrea Lo Nostro, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
  • Book: Molecular Forces and Self Assembly
  • Online publication: 06 January 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811531.008
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Specific ion effects
  • Barry W. Ninham, Australian National University, Canberra, Pierandrea Lo Nostro, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
  • Book: Molecular Forces and Self Assembly
  • Online publication: 06 January 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811531.008
Available formats
×