Developments in theoretical analytical chemistry Alimarin was interested in the theoretical problems of analytical chemistry, including the composition and structure of
organometallic compounds and the theoretical bases of
chelate extraction and distribution
chromatography. Many of the methods Alimarin developed are still employed today, both in laboratory and industrial settings. zirconium,
scandium,
gallium, and
indium.
Developments in microanalysis Alimarin developed
microanalytic methods for determining the presence of
nitrous oxide and
iron oxide in minerals and water, and of
silicic acid in silicates before the
war. During his time in Chelyabinsk, Alimarin developed similar methods for
tin,
tungsten,
molybdenum,
cobalt,
vanadium and
mercury. He also made contributions to
metallurgy and created a
microanalysis laboratory. More microanalysis laboratories were created at GEOHI and the Department of Analytical Chemistry of MSU under his direction. He also proposed
coulometric microtitrations
Analysis of highly pure substances A significant part of Alimarin's scientific activity was focused on developing methods for separating and determining the concentration of small and ultra-small concentrations of elements, i.e. "trace" analytical chemistry. An important application of these studies is analyzing the purity of substances used in
nuclear power plants,
semiconductors,
radio electronics and
optical fibres. Alimarin's teams at GEOHI and MSU created methods for the analysis of high-purity substances, which allowed them to find a large number of impurities with detection limits of 10−5-10−9%.
inversion voltammetry,
luminescence,
laser spectroscopy,
catalytic reactions, extraction chromatography, co-deposition with
atomic emission, These methods represented an important advance in
quality control and remain relevant in the science of obtaining the pure substances themselves. In 1972, Alimarin was awarded the USSR State Prize for his work in this field.
Nuclear chemistry and radio analysis Alimarin began working on nuclear chemistry in 1950. His studies served as seminal papers on the development of
radioanalytical methods for determining the presence of trace elements, such as activation analysis,
Chromatography and electrochemistry Alimarin carried out numerous ionic,
gas-liquid and liquid-liquid
chromatography studies at MSU to identify patterns of ion
sorption on surface-modified
sorbents. Effective sorption-photometric methods were developed for the concentration and determination of palladium,
copper and some other elements. Under the leadership of Alimarin, MSU and GEOHI developed a method for the determination of ultra-low concentrations of substances in 1960. This method is known today as
inversion voltammetry. Alimarin was also involved in the development of
potentiometry and
coulometry methods at MSU. At GEOHI, Alimarin developed controlled potential coulometry for determining the presence of trace
platinum.
Luminescence analysis Alimarin began research on
photoluminescence in 1963 at MSU. He developed highly sensitive (
detection limit 10−4-10−7%) methods for determining the presence of
gallium,
indium,
tantalum,
tellurium,
uranium,
thorium and other elements in semiconductor materials, ores, waters, and chemical reagents. In the following years, Alimarin studied low-temperature luminescence (cryo-luminescence) in aqueous solutions and extracts of halide complexes of
transition metals. === Contributions to the
history of science === Alimarin's works on the history of Russian science emphasized the importance of
Mikhail Lomonosov and
Dmitri Mendeleev's studies. Alimarin also considered the study of
platinum and the
platinum group to be important in analytical chemistry. Alimarin presented his views on the general issues of analytical chemistry, such as its name and its importance, in a 1983 article titled "Modern Understanding of the Science of analytical chemistry". == Pedagogy ==