In 1931 Vrey, Brickwedde, and Murphy discovered the hydrogen isotope deuterium. The isotopic enrichment was found to arise from the fact that the electrolysis oflight water is faster than of heavy water [1,2]. This success showed that although different isotopes of an element behave identically from a chemical standpoint the different isotopic masses nevertheless lead to both isotope effects on equilibrium as well as on rate constants of chemical reactions. Soon, ratios of equilibrium constants of isotopic reactions were called "equilibrium isotope effects" (EIE), ratios of isotopic rate...
In 1931 Vrey, Brickwedde, and Murphy discovered the hydrogen isotope deuterium. The isotopic enrichment was found to arise from the fact that the elec...