To the Memory of Ernő Pungor: A Subjective View on the History of Ion‐Selective Electrodes

Abstract

In the Mátrafüred 08 Symposium on Electrochemical Sensors a session was dedicated to the memory of late Professor Ernő Pungor, the founder and long-term organizer of the Má trafüred conference series. We all remember him as an inventive scientist with an enthusiastic and witty personality, rich in ideas. Ernő Pungor left his mark in science and on many scientists worldwide. With this contribution, the authors would like to pay tribute to him and acknowledge his outstanding contributions to analytical chemistry, but especially his pioneering works in the field of ion-selective electrodes.

A New Planar Potentiometric Sensor for In Situ Measurements

“…Hydrogen-selective membrane components that included hydrogen ionophore V (Calix [ 4 ]-aza-crown), lipophilic salt-sodium tetrakis(4-fluorophenyl)borate dihydrate, 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether (o-NPOE), and high-molecular-weight poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, MO, USA. Tetrahydrofuran, used as a solvent, was also purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, MO, USA.…”

“…By the 1960s, ISEs underwent a major development that laid the foundation for modern potentiometric sensors. Ever since 1961 when Pungor [3,4] presented halide-selective electrodes with heterogeneous membranes, several breakthrough inventions created a new era in potentiometric analysis, including crystalline membrane ISEs (including a fluoride electrode with an LaF crystal) [5], neutral ionophore-based liquid membrane ISEs [6,7], and charged ionophore-based liquid membrane ISEs [8]. Plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was constantly used as the standard matrix of the liquid membrane in this period, which still remains highly relevant today [9].…”

Past and present of electrochemical science in Hungary

“…The history of Hungarian electrochemistry along with its background can perhaps be best shown through the life and activities of the outstanding electrochemist-scientists, just as was recently done by György Inzelt [1]. Out of the many outstanding scientists listed therein, two of them, Tibor Erdey-Grúz [1], [2, page 352] and Ernő Pungor [1], [2, page 770] [3], were active in the twentieth century, established two major directions of electrochemistry in Hungary. Their schools: students, followers, and "scientific descendants"-and the ideas they introduced and represented are still noteworthy.…”

Ion‐Selective Electrodes – The Early Years

“…As mentioned above, the earliest work was that of Ernö Pungor (Figure 2) and Klara Toth (Figure 3) at the Technical University of Budapest in the early 1960s. Professor Pungor, very expertly assisted by Dr. Toth, demonstrated the effectiveness of a new class of electrodes in which insoluble silver halide salts could be embedded into an appropriate inert matrix (first paraffin wax and then silicone rubber) and, when incorporated into an electrode configuration, provide potential output related, through the Nernst equation, to the activity of the anions in solution 4. Subsequently, in 1965, Pungor was the first to commercialize these electrodes via the Hungarian company, Radelkis.…”

“…Subsequently, in 1965, Pungor was the first to commercialize these electrodes via the Hungarian company, Radelkis. In later years, Pungor and co‐workers directed their attention to ionophore‐based ISEs, and a more detailed description of this work, with references, can be found in a commemorative article by Lindner and Toth 4 ,…”