ABSTRACT
I. GENERAL REMARKS In electrolyte solutions in general electric conductance is an important mea surable property, characterizing the ionic structure and ionic interactions in solution. Thus conductivity measurements were crucial in the establishment of the Arrhenius dissociation theory. Further developments of the theory led to the Debye-Hiickel theory of electrolytes and the Onsager-Fuoss [1,2] theory of electrolytic conductivity. This theory has been very successful for simple electrolytes in dilute solutions, where quantitative agreement with experiments is achieved. However, at higher concentrations and with unsymmetrical electrolytes containing multivalent ions, agreement with experiment is less satisfactory, because in these solutions the limiting law approxima tions of the original theory become overextended and begin to fail. This is even more the case with solutions containing polyelectrolytes and charged colloids. In these highly unsymmetrical electrolytes, the models of interionic interactions are still incomplete and under debate. Therefore a quantitative conductivity theory for polyelectrolytes on the molecular level is beyond our reach at present. Alternatively, a phenomenological approach may be used, to provide a framework for the interpretation of experimental data.
