Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 80 years the Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by 1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name whereas others have had to be discontinued.

This book of general analytical chemistry - as opposed to instrumental analysis or separation methods - in aqueous solutions is focuses on fundamentals, which is an area too often overlooked in the literature. Explanations abound of the chemical and physical principles of different operations of chemical analysis in aqueous solutions. Once these principle are firmly established, numerous examples of applications are also given.

This Springer Laboratory volume is a practical guide for scientists and students dealing with the measurement of mechanical properties of polymers at the nanoscale through AFM force-distance curves. In the first part of the book the reader will find a theoretical introduction about atomic force microscopy, focused on force-distance curves, and mechanical properties of polymers. The discussion of several practical issues concerning the acquisition and the interpretation of force-distance curves will help scientists starting to employ this technique. The second part of the book deals with the practical measurement of mechanical properties of polymers by means of AFM force-distance curves. Several "hands-on" examples are illustrated in a very detailed manner, with particular attention to the sample preparation, data analysis, and typical artefacts. This section gives a complete overview about the qualitative characterization and quantitative determination of the mechanical properties of homogeneous polymer samples, polymer brushes, polymer thin films, confined polymer samples, model blends and microstructured polymer blends through AFM force-distance curves. The book also introduces to new approaches and measurement techniques, like creep compliance and force modulation measurements, pointing out approximations, limitations and issues requiring further confirmation.

Lowe's new edition assumes little mathematical or physical sophistication and emphasizes an understanding of the techniques and results of quantum chemistry. It can serve as a primary text in quantum chemistry courses, and enables students and researchers to comprehend the current literature. This third edition has been thoroughly updated and includes numerous new exercises to facilitate self-study and solutions to selected exercises.
* Assumes little initial mathematical or physical sophistication, developing insights and abilities in the context of actual problems
* Provides thorough treatment of the simple systems basic to this subject
* Emphasizes UNDERSTANDING of the techniques and results of modern quantum chemistry
* Treats MO theory from simple Huckel through ab intio methods in current use
* Develops perturbation theory through the topics of orbital interaction as well as spectroscopic selection rules
* Presents group theory in a context of MO applications
* Includes qualitative MO theory of molecular structure, Walsh rules, Woodward-Hoffmann rules, frontier orbitals, and organic reactions
develops MO theory of periodic systems, with applications to organic polymers.

This book helps advanced undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students in their daily work by offering them a compendium of numerical methods. The choice of methods pays significant attention to error estimates, stability and convergence issues as well as to the ways to optimize program execution speeds. Many examples are given throughout the chapters, and each chapter is followed by at least a handful of more comprehensive problems which may be dealt with, for example, on a weekly basis in a one- or two-semester course. In these end-of-chapter problems the physics background is pronounced, and the main text preceding them is intended as an introduction or as a later reference. Less stress is given to the explanation of individual algorithms. It is tried to induce in the reader an own independent thinking and a certain amount of scepticism and scrutiny instead of blindly following readily available commercial tools.

This volume expands upon the collection of techniques published in Protein Electrophoresis: Methods and Protocols (2012) with more practical and reproducible methods to study protein gel detection and imaging. The chapters in this book cover topics such as coomassie-brilliant blue staining of polyacrylamide gels; silver staining techniques; microwave assisted protein staining, de-staining, and in-solution digestion of proteins; curumin and turmeric as an environment-friendly protein gel stain; in-gel protein phosphotase assay using fluorogenic substrates; destaining with fungal laccase; and radiolabeling and analysis of labeled proteins. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and practical, Protein Gel Detection and Imaging: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for expert and novice scientists and researchers who are interested in learning and experimenting with this field.

This book focuses on the combustion performance and application of innovative energetic materials for solid and hybrid space rocket propulsion. It provides a comprehensive overview of advanced technologies in the field of innovative energetic materials and combustion performance, introduces methods of modeling and diagnosing the aggregation/agglomeration of active energetic metal materials in solid propellants, and investigates the potential applications of innovative energetic materials in solid and hybrid propulsion. In addition, it also provides step-by-step solutions for sample problems to help readers gain a good understanding of combustion performance and potential applications of innovative energetic materials in space propulsion. This book serves as an excellent resource for researchers and engineers in the field of propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics.

This text contains a collection of lectures presented at the NATO ASI on "Frontiers of Chemical Dynamics" in Kemer, Turkey. Even though these articles include and sometimes emphasize the latest developments in corresponding research fields, they all share a common denominator, namely, they are intended as lectures for students at various levels as well as scientists entering a new field. It can, therefore, be used as a supplementary textbook for graduate courses on chemical dynamics. The various aspects of dynamical problems are discussed by experimentalists, theoreticians and those who carry out "numerical experiments", although it is not always easy to distinguish between theory and experiment. Most of the topics discussed offer different approaches to the same problem which will give an overall picture.

The book provides a systematic view on flammability and a collection of solved engineering problems in the fields of dilution and purge, mine gas safety, clean burning safety and gas suppression modeling. For the first time, fundamental principles of energy conservation are used to develop theoretical flammability diagrams and are then explored to understand various safety-related mixing problems. This provides the basis for a fully-analytical solution to any flammability problem. Instead of the traditional view that flammability is a fundamental material property, here flammability is discovered to be a result of the explosibility of air and the ignitability of fuel, or a process property. By exploring the more fundamental concepts of explosibility and ignitability, the safety targets of dilution and purge can be better defined and utilized for guiding safe operations in process safety. This book provides various engineering approaches to mixture flammability, benefiting not only the safety students, but also field operators, as a useful resource for the safe handling of flammable gases and liquids. It will be useful to anyone who worries about the ignition potential of a flammable mixture.

Friction force microscopy is an important analytical tool in the field of tribology on the nanometer-scale. The contact area between the probing tip and the sample is reduced to some square nanometers, corresponding to the ideal of a single asperity contact. Traditional concepts, such as friction coefficients, adhesion and elasticity and stick-slip are re-examined with this novel technique. New concepts based upon classical and quantum mechanics are investigated.

The series Structure and Bonding publishes critical reviews on topics of research concerned with chemical structure and bonding. The scope of the series spans the entire Periodic Table and addresses structure and bonding issues associated with all of the elements. It also focuses attention on new and developing areas of modern structural and theoretical chemistry such as nanostructures, molecular electronics, designed molecular solids, surfaces, metal clusters and supramolecular structures. Physical and spectroscopic techniques used to determine, examine and model structures fall within the purview of Structure and Bonding to the extent that the focus is on the scientific results obtained and not on specialist information concerning the techniques themselves. Issues associated with the development of bonding models and generalizations that illuminate the reactivity pathways and rates of chemical processes are also relevant.

The individual volumes in the series are thematic. The goal of each volume is to give the reader, whether at a university or in industry, a comprehensive overview of an area where new insights are emerging that are of interest to a larger scientific audience. Thus each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years should be presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. A description of the physical basis of the experimental techniques that have been used to provide the primary data may also be appropriate, if it has not been covered in detail elsewhere. The coverage need not be exhaustive in data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the new principles being developed that will allow the reader, who is not a specialist in the area covered, to understand the data presented. Discussion of possible future research directions in the area is welcomed. Review articles for the individual volumes are invited by the volume editors.

Experimental advances in helium atom scattering spectroscopy over the last forty years have allowed the measurement of surface phonon dispersion curves of more than 200 different crystal surfaces and overlayers of insulators, semiconductors and metals. The first part of the book presents, at a tutorial level, the fundamental concepts and methods in surface lattice dynamics, and the theory of atom-surface interaction and inelastic scattering in their various approximations, up to the recent electron-phonon theory of helium atom scattering from conducting surfaces. The second part of the book, after introducing the experimentalist to He-atom spectrometers and the rich phenomenology of helium atom scattering from corrugated surfaces, illustrates the most significant experimental results on the surface phonon dispersion curves of various classes of insulators, semiconductors, metals, layered crystals, topological insulators, complex surfaces, adsorbates, ultra-thin films and clusters. The great potential of helium atom scattering for the study of atomic scale diffusion, THz surface collective excitations, including acoustic surface plasmons, and the future prospects of helium atom scattering are presented in the concluding chapters. The book will be valuable reading for all researchers and graduate students interested in dynamical processes at surfaces.

"Polymeric and Nanostructured Macromolecules" presents the recent advances made in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of polymeric macromolecules.

This book provides an excellent overview of the recent breakthroughs in the science of macromolecules, with an emphasis on nanostructured macromolecules and the perspectives that these versatile materials offer to different fields such as optoelectronics and biotechnology.

Advanced undergraduate, graduate students and researchers alike will find the topics concerning physical and chemical properties of advanced macromolecular materials of great interest.

Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Particles discusses fundamental magnetic nanoparticle physics and chemistry and explores important biomedical applications and future challenges. The first section presents the fundamentals of the field by explaining the theory of magnetism, describing techniques to synthesize magnetic particles, detailing methods to characterize magnetic particles, and quantitatively describing the applied magnetic forces, torques, and the resultant particle motions. The second section describes the wide range of biomedical applications, including chemical sensors, cellular actuators, drug delivery, magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging contrast enhancement, and toxicity. Additional key features include: Covers both introduction to physics and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles and the state of the art in biomedical applications Authoritative reference for scientists and engineers for all new or old to the field Describes how the size of magnetic nanoparticles affects their magnetic properties, colloidal properties, and biological properties. Written by a team of internationally respected experts, this book provides an up-to-date authoritative reference for scientists and engineers.

The principal focus of this volume is to illustrate the level of accuracy currently achievable by "ab initio" quantum chemical calculations. While new developments in theory are discussed to some extent, the major emphasis is on a comparison of calculated properties with experiments. This focus is similar to the one taken in the book, "Comparison of Ab Initio Quantum Chemistry with Experiment for Small Molecules", edited by Rodney Bartlett (Reidel, 1984). However, the phenomenal improvement in both theoretical methods and computer architecture have made it possible to obtain accurate results for rather large molecular systems. For example, the electronic spectra of the nucleic acid base monomer structures shown on the front cover have been obtained using a fully correlated "ab initio" study. This text is intended for researchers, teachers and students in chemistry and physics.

This volume discusses the great potential of metal nanoparticle catalysts for complicated molecular synthesis and reviews the current progress of this field. The development of highly active and stable heterogeneous catalysts is a crucial subject in modern science. However, development of heterogeneous catalysts for fine chemical synthesis has lagged far behind those for bulk chemical process. In recent years metal nanoparticle catalysts have been of great interest in this area due to their unique activity, ease of heterogenization, and robustness. Therefore, metal nanoparticle catalysts are an excellent candidate for the above-mentioned active and robust heterogeneous catalysts and this book provides an overview of this area. The present volume summarizes recent progress on nanoparticle catalysis for various organic transformations from simple redox reactions to complex asymmetric C-C bond forming reactions and also presents seminal studies on new technologies. It comprehensively summarizes advances in metal nanoparticle catalysis across several aspects including reaction manners, mechanistic investigations and new synthetic methodologies to encourage the use of metal nanoparticle catalysts for future organic synthesis. This volume will be of interest to students, researchers and professionals focused on the next-generation of fine chemical synthesis.

This textbook is the result of the enhancement of several courses on non-equilibrium statistics, stochastic processes, stochastic differential equations, anomalous diffusion and disorder. The target audience includes students of physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and engineering at undergraduate and graduate level with a grasp of the basic elements of mathematics and physics of the fourth year of a typical undergraduate course. The little-known physical and mathematical concepts are described in sections and specific exercises throughout the text, as well as in appendices. Physical-mathematical motivation is the main driving force for the development of this text. It presents the academic topics of probability theory and stochastic processes as well as new educational aspects in the presentation of non-equilibrium statistical theory and stochastic differential equations.. In particular it discusses the problem of irreversibility in that context and the dynamics of Fokker-Planck. An introduction on fluctuations around metastable and unstable points are given. It also describes relaxation theory of non-stationary Markov periodic in time systems. The theory of finite and infinite transport in disordered networks, with a discussion of the issue of anomalous diffusion is introduced. Further, it provides the basis for establishing the relationship between quantum aspects of the theory of linear response and the calculation of diffusion coefficients in amorphous systems.

This book is the translated and commented autobiography of Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932), who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1909. It is the first translation of the German original version "Lebenslinien: Eine Selbstbiographie," published by Ostwald in 1926/27, and has been painstakingly translated. The book includes comments and explanations, helping readers to understand Ostwald's text in the historical context of Germany at the beginning of the 20th century.In his autobiography, Ostwald describes his impressive research career and his life from his own personal view. Readers will find information on how Ostwald immortalized himself through his research on catalysis, chemical equilibria, technical chemistry, and especially as one of the founders of modern physical chemistry. His broad interests in science, ranging from philosophy to the theory of colors and the idea of a universal scientific language are further remarkable aspects covered.This work will appeal to a broad audience of contemporary scientists: Wilhelm Ostwald has been tremendously influential for the development of chemistry and science, and many of today's best-known international scientific schools can be traced back to Ostwald's students. Ostwald was active in Germany and what is now Latvia and Estonia, while also travelling to the USA, England and France. In his discussions and analyses of the working conditions of the time, readers will find many issues reflected that continue to be of relevance today.

The study of fluctuations in statistical physics has a long history, and a general theory is well established, connecting fluctuations to response properties of equilibrium systems. Remarkably, this framework fails as soon as some current is flowing across the system, driving it out of equilibrium. The presence of currents is quite common in nature and produces rich phenomena which are far from being included in a general framework. This thesis focuses on this general problem by studying different models such as granular materials and systems exhibiting anomalous diffusion and shows how the generalized response techniques can be successfully used to catch the relevant degrees of freedom that drive the systems out of equilibrium. This study paves the way to the use of the generalized fluctuation relations in an operative way, in order to extract information from a non-equilibrium system and to build the corresponding phenomenological theory.

Advances in Quantum Chemistry presents surveys of current developments in this rapidly developing field that falls between the historically established areas of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. With invited reviews written by leading international researchers, each presenting new results, it provides a single vehicle for following progress in this interdisciplinary area. This volume continues the tradition with high quality and thorough reviews of various aspects of quantum chemistry. It contains a variety of topics on the use of quantum mechanical methods to calculate molecular properties including response properties. Linear and non-linear response methods have been developed and implemented for most of the approximate wave functions used in quantum chemistry, giving a range of computational methods of varying cost and accuracy. Thus it is presently possible to calculate for example excitation energies, linear and nonlinear optical properties, one- and multi-photon transition rates, and magnetically induced transition moments for a wide range of molecules and target accuracies. These calculations aid in the interpretation of a wide range of spectroscopy including electron spin resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic circular dichroism and general laser spectroscopy.

Despite the fact that chemical applications of ultrasound are now widely acknowledged, a detailed presentation of inorganic systems covering nano-particles, catalysis, aqueous chemistry of metallic solutions and their redox characteristics, both from a theoretical and experimental perspective has eluded researchers of this field.

"Theoretical and Experimental Sonochemistry Involving Inorganic Systems" fills this gap and presents a concise and thorough review of this fascinating area of Sonochemistry in a single volume.

This thesis focuses on the bottom-up design, construction and operation of supramolecular systems capable of behaving as devices and machines on the molecular scale, which is a topic of great interest in nanoscience and a fascinating challenge in nanotechnology. In particular, the systems investigated here include: polyviologen dendrimers capable of behaving as hosts and chargestoring devices; molecular machines based on pseudorotaxanes/rotaxanes and operated by photoinduced proton transfer, or photoisomerization reactions; and a simple unimolecular multiplexer/demultiplexer. The systems have been characterized using a variety of techniques including absorption and emission spectra, laser flash photolysis, NMR spectroscopy, electrochemical experiments, stopped flow measurements. This research addresses a large number of open problems in the nanosciences, dealing with a wide range of the most advanced applications of supramolecular systems.

This book shows the availability and potential of the coupled acoustic-gravitational (CAG) field for trace-level biosensing. The proposed detection scheme also allows the evaluation of the kinetics and thermodynamics of the reaction occurring on a single microparticle (MP). This method has wide applicability in important fields, involving not only chemistry but also life, environmental, and medical sciences. The author proposes novel trace-level biosensing based on measurements of the levitation coordinate shift of an MP in the CAG field. The levitation coordinate of the MP in the CAG field is determined by its density and compressibility. The levitation coordinate shift is induced by the binding of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to the MP through interparticle reactions. Therefore, the quantity of molecules involved in the reaction can be determined from the levitation coordinate shift. The author demonstrates the zmol level detection for biotin, DNA/RNA, and organic molecules. In addition, the kinetics and thermodynamics are evaluated for various reactions occurring between the MP and AuNP, such as the avidin-biotin reaction, direct hybridization, sandwich hybridization, and aptamer-target complexation. This book provides a new concept based on the CAG field, in which the extent of a reaction is converted into the levitation coordinate shift, that is, "length." The proposed method has many advantages over other methods, e.g., high biocompatibility, high applicability, and short analysis time. In addition, because the apparatus used in this study is inexpensive and easy to miniaturize, this method is useful in important practical fields, such as forensic and environmental science and diagnosis. Thus, this book inspires many researchers to apply the present method to their own fields of interest.

Computational methods, and in particular quantum chemistry, have taken the lead in our growing understanding of noncovalent forces, as well as in their categorization. This volume describes the current state of the art in terms of what we now know, and the current questions requiring answers in the future. Topics range from very strong (ionic) to very weak (CH-- ) interactions. In the intermediate regime, forces to be considered are H-bonds, particularly CH--O and OH--metal, halogen, chalcogen, pnicogen and tetrel bonds, aromatic stacking, dihydrogen bonds, and those involving radicals. Applications include drug development and predictions of crystal structure.