| Research Abstract |
The main part in the formation process of physical chemistry was the establishment of chemical thermodynamics, which was closely related with the chemical kinetics.
1. The theory of heterogeneous eqilibrium and that of dissociation equilibrium are to be supposed as the fundamental moments for the formation of chemical thermodynamics. G.Kirchhoff was the first to apply the principles of thermodynamics to sollutions in 1858. His theory was of much help to the studies by A.Horstmann, C.M.Guldberg, H.von Helmholtz and others.
2.It was the theory of dissociation equilibrium that established the primary stage in the formation of chemical thermodynamics. In 1873 Horstmann, who is known to be the first chemist to have applied the second law of thermodynamics to chemical processes,attained a qualitatively high level of the theory concerning dissociation equilibrium, founding it on the entropy maximization principle. This new level of Horstmann's theory was made possible through his exact recognising of the inner connection of chemical processes with thermodynamic laws, and of the difference and the relation between microscopic processes and macroscopic ones.
3. In the formation of chemical thermodynamics, the thermodynamic functions, introduced by F.Massieu, J.W.Gibbs and Helmholtz, played a important role. On the other hand, van't Hoff reintroduced the method of cyclic process, using the action of semiprmeable membrance.
4. The establishment of chemical thermodynamics gave the fundamental basis to the irreversible thermodynamics, the initial step of which was gotten by De Donder in 1922.
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