There are several “electrochemical places” in StPetersburg (SPb), which was a capital of Russia for a long time. Specialized Dept of Electrochemistry still exists at the Faculty of Chemistry, SPb University. There are also technical universities which host various branches of applied electrochemistry.
StPetersburg University <СПбГУ>
Mikhail Stepanovich Vrevskyi (1871-1929) was a key person of his period in <non-electrolyte> solutions research in SPb University. He continued with this topic as a former student of D.P. Konovalov (memorial article in Russian ). In 1914, Vrevskyi founded the Dept of physical chemistry, see Historical webpage of the Dept (in Russian). The obituary published in Zhurnal Prikladnoi Khimii. 1929. V. 2. P. I-VI (in Russian) was authored by K.P. Mishchenko. The memorial article with numerous details of Vrevskyi’s life and work, incl. list of publications, was published by his pupil S.A. Shchukarev in Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii. 1931. V. 1. P. 1145-1157 (in Russian).
Ivan Ivanovich Zhukov (1880-1949) headed Vrevskyi’s Dept starting from 1929, transformed it into Dept of physical and colloid chemistry, and finally separated his Dept of colloid chemistry in 1939. He payed serious attention to teaching of colloid chemistry, and authored a fundamental textbook which was used for decades. Among his research areas, the most known is electrodyalisys (Zhukov’s 1943 review in Uspekhi Khimii, in Russian). Jointly with Nikol’skyi, he worked on applied problem of water purification. He was active with pH-metry (examples are “antimony electrode” (1931) and pH-metry in mixed solvents (1932)) and, wider, in potentiometric analysis. He also invented unusual approach to fabricate smooth highly active platinum electrodes, Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii. 1933. V. 3. P. 958-962, and 1934. V. 4. P. 9-12. The obituary in Uspekhi Khimii. 1950. V. 19. P. 647-650 (in Russian) contains his list of publications.
Boris Petrovich Nikolskyi (1900-1990) was supervised by M.S. Vrevskyi in his youth. His widely known early works on the glass electrode (Parts I – III) were mostly done in Saratov (Volga region), where Nikolsky was in exile after he was arrested in 1935. At the end of 1937, he was arrested again and sent to detention camp at the North. Fortunately, he was released in 1939 and returned to Leningrad. Part V appeared in Zhurnal Fizicheskoi Khimii 1953. V. 27. P. 724-743 (generalized theory, allowing for varios bonding energies of hydrogen ions). Part IX (co-authored by M.M. Shul’tz and N.V. Peshekhonova) appeared in 1959. V. 33. P. 1922-1927.
1932: Dept of Electrochemistry in newly established Institute of Chemical Physics, headed by S.A. Shchukarev, B.P. Nikolskyi, and R.L. Müller (see P. 448 of this text). However, this Institute was transferred to Moscow in few years, when electrochemical branch continued in various institutions in Leningrad.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Shults (1919-2006) was Nikol’skyi’s student (PhD 1951) working of sodium function of glass electrode. In 1956, he founded the lab of glass electrochemistry at the Dept. Starting from 1972, he became the director of academic Institute of the Chemistry of Silicates.
Konstantin Pavlovich Mishchenko (1901-1979) is another important person supervised by M.S. Vrevskyi at the early stage, and teaching in Technological Institute up to 1951. His most known affiliation is Leningrad Cellulose and Paper Technological Institute (technical University, ЛТИ ЦБП), where he headed the Dept of physical and colloid chemistry starting from 1950s. He was an expert in solutions thermodynamics, with simultaneous active studies of molecular-level structure of solutions (incl. NMR).
Yuryi Alekseyevich Boltunov (1903-1971) graduated from the University in 1930 and worked there on various potentiometric topics before WWII. After a period at the front, he started to work in essentially different area: printing for cinema, including color printing. He served as the director of some Moscow factory related to cinema and TV.
Aleksey Georgievich Morachevskyi (1923-2019) entered SPb University after WWII, several years at the front. In 1951, he completed diploma thesis on luminescent complexes of rare-earth metals (joint work with S.I.Vavilov’s lab). Then he became PhD student of Alexey Vasilievich Storonkin (1916-1994), a pupil of B.P. Nikolskyi. Aleksey Georgievich completed his PhD thesis on thermodynamics of ternary liquid systems in 1954. Starting from 1960s, he continued the research of this type already at the Dept of physical chemistry, and became Nikol’skyi’s successor as a head of Dept in 1988.
Natalia Aleksandrovna Smirnova (1933-2023) was a student of A.G. Morachevskyi, she headed the Dept of physical chemistry starting from 1997. She was an expert in thermodynamics of liquids and solutions, including solutions of gases. She is mostly known for applications of statistical thermodynamics to these systems. In 2005, she published a survey dedicated to 90 years jubilee of the Dept (in Russian), which contains all key names and representative publications for all research directions.
1940: Specialized Dept of Electrochemistry is founded at the Faculty of Chemistry, StPb (Leningrad) State University.
This Dept was headed first by Rudolf Lyudvigovich Müller (1899-1964), who was an expert in solid electrolytes with the accent on glass conductivity (1929 diploma study in StPb University, 1938 PhD degree, and 1940 DSc thesis). However, he was ungroundedly arrested in 1941 as a person having German last name, and found himself in various camps in Krasnoyarsk region (Siberia). In 1946, he was transferred to Karsnoyarsk and obliged to work in newly constructed factory, working out electrolysis technologies of platinum group metals and gold. Being released in 1951 (but still exciled), he moved to Kemerovo (also in Siberia) and worked as school teacher. In 1953, after Stalin’d death, he was allowed to work in the local Mining University, and returned to his research work with glasses, as well as with local carbon. He was able to come again to StPb only in 1956. Texts in Russian written by Andrey G. Morachevsky and by unknown author from Kemerovo present many biographic and professional details.
During WWII, Dept was frozen because of evacuation of the Unoversity (first to Elabuga (Tatarstan), and then to Saratov). After WWII, a long transition period took place, when B.P. Nikolskyi was a part-time head of the Dept. At the end of this period, at 1950-1951, A. V. Storonkin played this role, who headed the Dept of solutions later (the link goes to the article dedicated to his 50 years jubilee).
Yaroslav Vassilievich Durdin (1900-1980) became a head of the Dept in 1952. He started to work on fundamentals of metal dissolution before WWII, being a member of the Leningrad Institute of Chemical Physics. Then he worked in the inorganic chemistry lab in the University. His research of electrode processes in solutions of metal ions, including complex ions, determined the major topic of the Dept for several decades. He also supervised two successors, who headed the Dept sequentially during four decades after him.
1940s: Vol’f Lazarevich Kheifets (1904? – 1977) started to work at the Dept of Electrochemistry in 1946, after 1952 he mostly worked in GiproNickel applied institute, and is known as an expert in Ni plating and refining.
Valery Il’ich Kravtasov (1929-2016) headed the Dept during 1973-1994 period, and known for his systematic studies of multistep electrode reactions of metal complexes. He completed two useful monographs on this topic (in Rissian) in 1969 and 1985. He made important development of Durdin’s topic, moving from formal kinetics of complex reactions to consideration of their inner- or outersphere nature.
Valeryi Veniaminovich Malev (1939-2022) combined experimental experience and theoretical beckground, being an expert in mass transport phenomena in electrochemical and membrane systems. In respect to classical research direction of the Dept, his important contribution was consideration of nonequilibrium ‘double layer’ effects on the electrode kinetics. He spent some period in the Institute of Cytology, dealing with biological membranes, and retured to the University as a head of Dept of electrochemistry in 1994, remaining at this post up to 2013. He initiated the fundamental works on electrochemistry of conducting polymers and other intercalating electrodes, being currently the principle direction of the Dept. Obituary in Russian.
Some articles of Ya.V. Durdin and later articles published by Dept members on the electrode reactions of metal complexes are collected at a separate page.
Representative articles of applied electrochemical schools from StPetersburg/Leningrad are available at a separate page.
StPetersburg Polytechnical Institute founded in 1899
Pavel Pavlovich Fedotiev (1864-1934)
The Dept of physical chemistry was started by V.A. Kistyakovskyi at metallurgical division of Polytechnical Institute in 1902.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Skorchelletti (1902-1984) worked at this Dept starting from 1932, with interruption to WWII, which he spent at the front. The most informative text about him we were able to find is devoted to his 70th jubilee (Protection of Metals. 1972. V. 8. P. 464-465).
Alexander Mikhailovich Sukhotin (1926-
Andrey Georgievich Morachevskyi (1926-)
StPetersburg Technological Institute founded in 1828 <СПбГТИ(ТУ)>
Dept of physical chemistry originates from the lab created by A.A. Yakovkin in 1899.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Yakovkin (1860-1936) was 1884 graduate of Moscow University, active supporter of the concept of electrolytic dissociation. He studied distribution of solutes between immisscible liquids, and managed to explaine some apparent anomalities for iodide/iodine system by equilibria with polyiodides. Later he studied these equilibria in aqueous solutions, and he is also known for his detailed study of chlorine hydrolysis. Available texts in Russian: obituary (Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii. 1937. V. 7. P. 2039-2043) and later informative text (Uspekhi Khimii. 1952. V. 21. P. 351-359) written by Pavel Isaakovich Starosel’skyi (1903-1982), historian of science.
The studies of electrolyte solutions were continued during a long period when the Dept was headed by Vladimir Yakovlevich Kurbatov (1878-1957), a person with rather diverse research interests (from thermodynamics of liquids and intermolecular interactions to the history of art and architecture). Jubilee text devoted to him is available in Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii. 1953. V. 23. P. 549-555 (in Russian). K.P. Mishchenko (see above) worked at this Dept for some period. Electrochemical activities started to develop when V.P. Mashovets joined the Dept in 1955. He headed the Dept in 1957-1971.
Vadim Petrovich Mashovets (1903-1986) graduated from Kiev Polytechnical Institute in 1929, and made his PhD related to electrometallurgy with V.A. Plotnikov. At the end of 1930s, he teached in Ivanovo Chemcal-Technological Institute, and co-authored the textbook on applied electrochemistry (published only in 1949). Before WWII, he moved to StPetersburg to work in Aluminum-Magnesium Institute, where he finally returned in 1971. V.P. Mashovets authored several still relevant books on aluminum production. As we know from the memoirs of his grand-daughter, he also wrote tales for children when starved during the siege of Leningrad in 1942 and could not move.
Dept of electrochemical engineering was established by P.P. Fedotiev in 1920, he continued to work in Polytechnical Institute in parallel. His son, N.P. Fedotiev, headed the Dept in 1936-1969.
Nikolay Pavlovich Fedotiev (1897-1969)
Aleksandr Levonovich Rotinyan (1913-1991), graduate of Yerevan University (1935), completed his PhD in StPetersburg Technological Institute in 1938. He worked in Novocherkassk for some period, then spent the years of WWII at the front,
StPeterburg Electrotechnical Institute founded in 1886 <СПбГЭТИУ “ЛЭТИ”>
This institute (known as abbreviation LETI) has relatively short electrochemical history stopped in 1930, when all chemistry-related specializations were closed. However what happened before 1930 is surely of interest.
Electrochemical division in LETI was founded not later than in 1891 by Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Krakau (1855-1909). Pushin…. <Kurnakov>