Gaston Charlot (11 June 1904 – 17 April 1994) was a French chemist, founder of modern analytical chemistry in France. Charlot graduated from the

École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris ESPCI Paris (officially the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la Ville de Paris; ''The City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution'') is a prestigious grande école founded in 1882 by ...

;ESPCI ParisTech Alumni 1925
/ref> he worked on the catalytic oxidation of organic substances in the gas phase. In 1945, he became professor of analytical chemistry at the École supérieure, and also lectured at the Faculté des sciences de Paris and at the

Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires Th(National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology), in French: ''L' Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires,'' is a public higher education institution administered by the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy ...

. Charlot generalized the Brønsted–Lowry theory of acid-base chemistry to complex chemistry. In 1943, he published ''Théories et méthodes nouvelles d'analyse qualitative'' (New theories and methods of qualitative analysis), which eliminated traditional methods such as

hydrogen sulfide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...

tests by replacing them with

electrochemical Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outco ...

colorimetric Colorimetry is "the science and technology used to quantify and describe physically the human color perception". It is similar to spectrophotometry, but is distinguished by its interest in reducing spectra to the physical correlates of color ...

tests, complex chemistry, and non-aqueous chemical reactions. After some reluctance from part of the chemistry community, the Charlot method found approval after the first European post-war analytical chemistry congress, held in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

in 1948. Gaston Charlot was the author of many reference works in analytical chemistry, including his ''Cours de chimie analytique générale'' and ''Les réactions chimiques en solution aqueuse''. He was elected member of the

French Academy of Science The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at th ...

in 1970 and knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

References

Biographical note
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlot, Gaston Members of the French Academy of Sciences Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur ESPCI Paris alumni 20th-century French chemists 1904 births 1994 deaths

See also

References