What is the historical development of autotitrators?
The classical way: Titration is a classical analytical technique widely used. Originally, it was performed by adding the titrant using a graduated glass cylinder (burette). With a tap the titrant addition was regulated manually. A change in colour indicated the end of the titration reaction (endpoint). At first, only those titrations showing a significant colour change upon reaching the endpoint were performed. Later titrations were coloured artificially with an indicator dye. The precision achieved depended mainly on the chemist’s skills and, in particular, on his different colour perception.The modern way: Titration has experienced a strong development: manual and -later- motorized piston burettes allow reproducible and accurate titrant addition. Electrodes for potential measurement replace the colour indicators, achieving higher precision and accuracy of the results. Graphical plot of potential versus titrant volume allows a more exact statement about the reaction than the colour ch
