Vol. 25 No. 1
January - February 2003

Concepts and Applications of the Term "Dimensionality" in Analytical Chemistry (IUPAC Technical Report)

by K. Danzer, J. F. van Staden, and D. T. Burns

Pure and Applied Chemistry,
Vol. 74, No. 8, pp. 1479–1487 (2002)

One-dimensional information (in z-direction; qualitative signal evaluation, signal identification)

The analytical chemistry community has used the term "dimensionality" to mean several different things. On different occasions, analysts speak about "two-dimensional" analytical methods, for example, 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, 2D thin-layer chromatography, "two-dimensional" or "three-dimensional" analytical information, "two-dimensional" or "three-dimensional" images in surface analytical chemistry, and of "m-dimensional" analytical data obtained, for example, as a result of multi-component analyses. These examples show that the use of the term "dimensionality" is at times contradictory. This confused position does not promote the unequivocal application of the term in analytical chemistry. The aim of this document is to provide a concept for the use of the term "dimensionality" as it is related to analytical information.

www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2002/7408/7408x1479.html