This book explores the use of biomass as an energy source and its application in energy conversion technologies. Focusing on the challenges of, and technologies related to, biomass conversion, the book is divided into three parts. The first part underlines the fundamental concepts that form the basis of biomass production, its feasibility valuation, and its potential utilization. This part does not consider only how biomass is generated, but also methods of assessment. The second part focuses on the clarification of central concepts of the biorefinery processes. After a preliminary introduction with industrial examples, common issues of biochemical reaction engineering applications are analysed in detail. The theory explained in this part demonstrates that the chemical kinetics are the core focus in modelling biological processes such as growth, decay, product formation and feedstock consumption. This part continues with the theory of biofuels production, including biogas, bioethanol, biodiesel and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons. The third part of this book gives detailed explanations of preliminary notions related to the theory of thermodynamics. This theory will assist the reader when taking into account the concepts treated in the previous two parts of the book. Several detailed derivations are given to give the reader a full understanding of the arguments at hand. This part also gives literature data on the main properties of some biomass feedstock. Fundamentals of Biofuels Engineering and Technology will be of interest not only to academics and researchers working in this field but also to graduate students and energy professionals seeking to expand their knowledge of this increasingly important area.

Recent advances in infrared molecular spectroscopy have resulted in sophisticated theoretical and laboratory methods that are difficult to grasp without a solid understanding of the basic principles and underlying theory of vibration-rotation absorption spectroscopy. "Rotational Structure in Molecular Infrared Spectra" fills the gap between these recent, complex topics and the most elementary methods in the field of rotational structure in the infrared spectra of gaseous molecules. There is an increasing need for people with the skills and knowledge to interpret vibration-rotation spectra in many scientific disciplines, including applications in atmospheric and planetary research. Consequently, the basic principles of vibration-rotation absorption spectroscopy are addressed for contemporary applications. In addition to covering operational quantum mechanical methods, spherical tensor algebra, and group theoretical methods applied to molecular symmetry, attention is also given to phase conventions and their effects on the values of matrix elements. Designed for researchers and PhD students involved in the interpretation of vibration-rotation spectra, the book intentionally separates basic theoretical arguments (in the appendices), allowing readers who are mainly concerned with applications to skip the principles while at the same time providing a sound theoretical basis for readers who are looking for more foundational information.

- Reviews basic theory and contemporary methods of vibration rotation absorption spectroscopy, including operational quantum mechanical methods, spherical tensor algebra, and group theoretical methods applied to molecular symmetry

- Covers sophisticated mathematical topics in simple, easy-to-read language

- Discusses methods and applications separately from basic theoretical arguments for quick reference

Forced-Flow Layer Chromatography takes a close look at the specifics of forced-flow layer chromatography techniques, from their evolution to the nuances of using these techniques in a variety of applications where traditional thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) are not as effective. This book presents a number of variations of TLC techniques, with special emphasis on the overpressured-layer chromatography (OPLC) technique and newer developments such as the BioArena System for biomedical analysis. The versatility of these forced-flow techniques opens up new avenues for the analysis of a large number of samples for high-throughput screening and for the analysis of very complex matrices, while the development of BioArena extends the use of these techniques to challenging new areas of bioanalysis.

This book discusses fundamentally new biomedical imaging methods, such as holography, holographic and resonant interferometry, and speckle optics. It focuses on the development of holographic interference microscopy and its use in the study of phase objects such as nerve and muscle fibers subjected to the influence of laser radiation, magnetic fields, and hyperbaric conditions. The book shows how the myelin sheath and even the axon itself exhibit waveguide properties, enabling a fresh new look at the mechanisms of information transmission in the human body. The book presents theoretically and experimentally tested holographic and speckle-optical methods and devices used for investigating complex, diffusely scattering surfaces such as skin and muscle tissue. Additionally, it gives broad discussion of the authors' own original fundamental and applied research dedicated to helping physicians introduce new contact-less methods of diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems into medical practice. The book is aimed at a broad spectrum of scientific specialists in the fields of speckle optics, holography, laser physics, morphology and cytochemistry, as well as medical professionals such as physiologists, neuropathologists, neurosurgeons, cardiologists and dentists.

This book introduces readers to the latest advances in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) biology. It reviews our current understanding of the structural basis of ligand binding and allosteric mechanisms, following a decade of technological breakthroughs. Several examples of structure-based drug discovery are presented, together with the future challenges involved in designing better drugs that target GPCRs. In turn, the book illustrates the important concept of GPCR biased signaling in physiological contexts, and presents fluorescent- and light-based methodologies frequently used to measure GPCR signaling or to trace their dynamics in cells upon ligand activation. Taken together, the chapters provide an essential overview and toolkit for new scientific investigators who plan to develop GPCR projects. All chapters were written by experts in their respective fields, and share valuable insights and powerful methodologies for the GPCR field.

This book offers a pragmatic guide to navigating through the complex maze of EPR/ESR spectroscopy fundamentals, techniques, and applications. Written for the scientist who is new to EPR spectroscopy, the editors have prepared a volume that de-mystifies the basic fundamentals without weighting readers down with detailed physics and mathematics, and then presents clear approaches in specific application areas. The first part presents basic fundamentals and advantages of electron paramagnetic resonance spectrscopy. The second part explores severalapplication areas including chemistry, biology, medicine, materials and geology. A frequently-asked-questions sections focuses on practicalquestions, such as the size of sample, etc. It's an ideal, hands-on reference for chemists and researchers in the pharmaceutical and materials (semiconductor) industries who are looking for a basic introduction to EPR spectroscopy.

Micro-Raman Spectroscopy introduces readers to the theory and application of Raman microscopy. Raman microscopy is used to study the chemical signature of samples with little preperation in a non-destructive manner. An easy to use technique with ever increasing technological advances, Micro-Raman has significant application for researchers in the fields of materials science, medicine, pharmaceuticals, and chemistry.

The book reviews photosynthetic water oxidation and proton-coupled electron transfer in photosystem, focusing on the molecular vibrations of amino acid residues and water molecules. Photosynthetic water oxidation performed by plants and cyanobacteria is essential for the sustenance of life on Earth, not only as an electron source for synthesizing sugars from CO2, but also as an O2 source in the atmosphere. Water oxidation takes place at the Mn4CaO5 cluster in photosystem II, where a series of electron transfer reactions coupled with proton transfer occur using light energy. The author addresses the unresolved mechanisms of photosynthetic water oxidation and relevant proton-coupled electron transfer reactions using a combined approach of experimental and computational methods such as Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. The results show that protonation and hydrogen-bond structures of water molecules and amino acid residues in the protein play important roles in regulation of the electron and proton transfer reactions. These findings and the methodology make a significant contribution to our understanding the molecular mechanism of photosynthetic water oxidation.

This book reports new findings in the fields of nonlinear optics, quantum optics and optical microscopy. It presents the first experimental device able to transform an input Gaussian beam into a non-diffracting Bessel-like beam. The modulation mechanism, i.e. electro-optic effect, allows the device to be fast, miniaturizable and integrable into solid state arrays. Also presented is an extensive study of the superposition of Bessel beams and their propagation in turbid media, with the aim of realizing field that is both localized and non-diffracting. These findings have been implemented in a light-sheet microscope to improve the optical sectioning. From a more theoretical point of view this work also tackles the problem of whether and how a single particle is able to entangle two distant systems. The results obtained introduce fundamental limitations on the use of linear optics for quantum technology. Other chapters are dedicated to a number of experiments carried out on disordered ferroelectrics including negative intrinsic mass dynamics, ferroelectric supercrystals, rogue wave dynamics driven by enhanced disorder and first evidence of spatial optical turbulence.

The knowledge base of chromatography continued to expand throughout the 1990s owing to its many applications to problems of contemporary interest in industry, life and environmental sciences. Organizing this information into a single text for a diverse group of scientists has become increasingly difficult. The present book stemmed from the desire to revise Chromatography Today, written by the same author with Salwa K. Poole, and published in 1991. This title is considered to be one of the definitive texts on chromatography. It was soon realized however, that a simple revision would not provide the desired result of a contemporary picture of the practice of chromatography at the turn of the century. The only workable solution was to start afresh, maintaining the same general philosophy and concept for Chromatography Today where possible, while creating essentially a new book.
The format of the new book is modular, with extensive cross-references to permit rapid location of related material using different separation concepts. Important features are extensive tabulation of essential data for performing separations and an extensive bibliography to the most recent literature.
This title is intended as a suitable text for graduate level courses in the separation sciences and as a self-study guide for professional chromatographers wishing to refresh their background in this rapidly expanding field.
The Essence of Chromatography presents a comprehensive survey of modern chromatography and is an effective replacement for Chromatography Today.
.Comprehensive and authoritative coverage of chromatographic techniques
.Contains extensive coverage of recent literature on this subject
.Ideal text for graduates and suitable for professional chromatographers"

This book highlights emerging trends in terahertz engineering and system technologies, mainly, devices, advanced materials, and various applications in THz technology. It includes advanced topics such as terahertz biomedical imaging, pattern recognition and tomographic reconstruction for THz biomedical imaging by use of machine learning and artificial intelligence, THz imaging radars for autonomous vehicle applications, THZ imaging system for security and surveillance. It also discusses theoretical, experimental, established and validated empirical work on these topics and the intended audience is both academic and professional.

This book presents the latest advances and future trends in electron and phonon spectrometrics, focusing on combined techniques using electron emissions, electron diffraction, and phonon absorption and reflection spectrometrics from a substance under various perturbations to obtain new information on bond-electron-phonon dynamics. Discussing the principles of the bond order-length-strength (BOLS) correlation, nonbonding electron polarization (NEP), local bond average (LBA), and multi-field lattice oscillation dynamics for systems under perturbation, the book covers topics like differential photoelectron/phonon spectrometrics (DPS), which distils transition of the length, energy, stiffness and the fraction of bonds upon chemical or physical conditioning; and the derived performance of electrons in various bands in terms of quantum entrapment and polarization. This book appeals to researchers, scientists and engineers in the fields of chemistry, physics, surface and interface science, and materials science and engineering who are interested in electron and phonon spectrometrics.

Over the last two decades, advances in the design, miniaturization, and analytical capabilities of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) instrumentation have led to its rapid and widespread adoption in a remarkably diverse range of applications in research and industrial fields. The impetus for this volume was that, as pXRF continues to grow into mainstream use, analysts should be increasingly empowered with the right information to safely and effectively employ pXRF as part of their analytical toolkit. This volume provides introductory and advanced-level users alike with readings on topics ranging from basic principles of pXRF and qualitative and quantitative approaches, through to machine learning and artificial intelligence for enhanced applications. It also includes fundamental guidance on calibrations, the mathematics of calculating uncertainties, and an extensive reference index of all elements and their interactions with X-rays. Contributing authors have provided a wealth of information and case studies in industry-specific chapters. These sections delve into detail on current standard practices in industry and research, including examples from agricultural and geo-exploration sectors, research in art and archaeology, and metals industrial and regulatory applications. As pXRF continues to grow in use in industrial and academic settings, it is essential that practitioners continue to learn, share, and implement informed and effective use of this technique. This volume serves as an accessible guidebook and go-to reference manual for new and experienced users in pXRF to achieve this goal.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) was discovered in the 1970s and has since grown enormously in breadth, depth, and understanding. One of the major characteristics of SERS is its interdisciplinary nature: it lies at the boundary between physics, chemistry, colloid science, plasmonics, nanotechnology, and biology. By their very nature, it is impossible to find a textbook that will summarize the principles needed for SERS of these rather dissimilar and disconnected topics. Although a basic understanding of these topics is necessary for research projects in SERS with all its many aspects and applications, they are seldom touched upon as a coherent unit during most undergraduate studies in physics or chemistry. This book intends to fill this existing gap in the literature. It provides an overview of the underlying principles of SERS, from the fundamental understanding of the effect to its potential applications. It is aimed primarily at newcomers to the field, graduate student, researcher or scientist, attracted by the many applications of SERS and plasmonics or its basic science. The emphasis is on concepts and background material for SERS, such as Raman spectroscopy, the physics of plasmons, or colloid science, all of them introduced within the context of SERS, and from where the more specialised literature can be followed.
* Represents one of very few books fully dedicated to the topic of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)
* Gives a comprehensive summary of the underlying physical concepts around SERS
* Provides a detailed analysis of plasmons and plasmonics

This book studies the dynamics of fundamental collective excitations in quantum materials, focusing on the use of state-of-the-art ultrafast broadband optical spectroscopy. Collective behaviour in solids lies at the origin of several cooperative phenomena that can lead to profound transformations, instabilities and phase transitions. Revealing the dynamics of collective excitations is a topic of pivotal importance in contemporary condensed matter physics, as it provides information on the strength and spatial distribution of interactions and correlation. The experimental framework explored in this book relies on setting a material out-of-equilibrium by an ultrashort laser pulse and monitoring the photo-induced changes in its optical properties over a broad spectral region in the visible or deep-ultraviolet. Collective excitations (e.g. plasmons, excitons, phonons...) emerge either in the frequency domain as spectral features across the probed range, or in the time domain as coherent modes triggered by the pump pulse. Mapping the temporal evolution of these collective excitations provides access to the hierarchy of low-energy phenomena occurring in the solid during its path towards thermodynamic equilibrium. This methodology is used to investigate a number of strongly interacting and correlated materials with an increasing degree of internal complexity beyond conventional band theory.

This book presents the most important advances in the class of topological materials and discusses the topological characterization, modeling and metrology of materials. Further, it addresses currently emerging characterization techniques such as optical and acoustic, vibrational spectroscopy (Brillouin, infrared, Raman), electronic, magnetic, fluorescence correlation imaging, laser lithography, small angle X-ray and neutron scattering and other techniques, including site-selective nanoprobes. The book analyzes the topological aspects to identify and quantify these effects in terms of topology metrics. The topological materials are ubiquitous and range from (i) de novo nanoscale allotropes of carbons in various forms such as nanotubes, nanorings, nanohorns, nanowalls, peapods, graphene, etc. to (ii) metallo-organic frameworks, (iii) helical gold nanotubes, (iv) Moebius conjugated polymers, (v) block co-polymers, (vi) supramolecular assemblies, to (vii) a variety of biological and soft-matter systems, e.g. foams and cellular materials, vesicles of different shapes and genera, biomimetic membranes, and filaments, (viii) topological insulators and topological superconductors, (ix) a variety of Dirac materials including Dirac and Weyl semimetals, as well as (x) knots and network structures. Topological databases and algorithms to model such materials have been also established in this book. In order to understand and properly characterize these important emergent materials, it is necessary to go far beyond the traditional paradigm of microscopic structure-property-function relationships to a paradigm that explicitly incorporates topological aspects from the outset to characterize and/or predict the physical properties and currently untapped functionalities of these advanced materials. Simulation and modeling tools including quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics, 3D visualization and tomography are also indispensable. These concepts have found applications in condensed matter physics, materials science and engineering, physical chemistry and biophysics, and the various topics covered in the book have potential applications in connection with novel synthesis techniques, sensing and catalysis. As such, the book offers a unique resource for graduate students and researchers alike.

This book explores emerging topics in atomic- and nano-scale electronics after the era of Moore's Law, covering both the physical principles behind, and technological implementations for many devices that are now expected to become key elements of the future of nanoelectronics beyond traditional complementary metal-oxide semiconductors (CMOS). Moore's law is not a physical law itself, but rather a visionary prediction that has worked well for more than 50 years but is rapidly coming to its end as the gate length of CMOS transistors approaches the length-scale of only a few atoms. Thus, the key question here is: "What is the future for nanoelectronics beyond CMOS?" The possible answers are found in this book. Introducing novel quantum devices such as atomic-scale electronic devices, ballistic devices, memristors, superconducting devices, this book also presents the reader with the physical principles underlying new ways of computing, as well as their practical implementation. Topics such as quantum computing, neuromorphic computing are highlighted here as some of the most promising candidates for ushering in a new era of atomic-scale electronics beyond CMOS.

This book originated out of a desire to combine topics on vibrational absorption, Raman scattering, vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and Raman optical activity (VROA) into one source. The theoretical details of these processes are presented in ten different chapters. Using dispersive and Fourier transform techniques, the instrumentation involved in these spectral measurements are given in three chapters. Major emphasis is placed on the newer techniques, i.e. VCD and VROA, with the conventional vibrational absorption and vibrational Raman scattering methods incorporated as natural parts of the newer methods.

Features of this book:

Comprehensive coverage of vibrational circular dichroism and vibrational Raman optical activity.

Coverage of theoretical and instrumental details.

A comprehensive survey of VCD and VROA applications is included, so that the reader can get an overview of theory, instrumentation and applications in one source.

The topics covered are of an advanced level, which makes this book invaluable for graduate students and practising scientists in vibrational spectroscopy.
"

This book discusses the spectral properties of solid-state laser materials, including emission and absorption of light, the law of radiative and nonradiative transitions, the selection rule for optical transitions, and different calculation methods of the spectral parameters. The book includes a systematic presentation of the authors' own research works in this field, specifically addressing the stimulated nonradiative transition theory and the apparent crystal field model. This volume is helpful resource for researchers and graduate students in the fields of solid spectroscopy and solid-state laser material physics, while also serving as a valuable reference guide for instructors and advanced students of physics.

This book presents the applications of ion-exchange materials in the biomedical industries. It includes topics related to the application of ion exchange chromatography in determination, extraction and separation of various compounds such as amino acids, morphine, antibiotics, nucleotides, penicillin and many more. This title is a highly valuable source of knowledge on ion-exchange materials and their applications suitable for postgraduate students and researchers but also to industrial R&D specialists in chemistry, chemical, and biochemical technology. Additionally, this book will provide an in-depth knowledge of ion-exchange column and operations suitable for engineers and industrialists.

This book describes the physical basis of polarization modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy and its application in electrochemical studies. It provides a concise yet comprehensive review of the research done in this field in the last 20 years. Electrochemical methods are used to determine the rate and mechanism of charge transfer reactions between an electrode and species adsorbed or diffusing to its surface. In the past two decades PM-IRRAS has grown to be one of the most important vibrational spectroscopy techniques applied to investigate structural changes taking place at the electrochemical interface. The monograph presents foundations of this technique and reviews in situ studies of redox-inactive and redox-active films adsorbed on electrode surfaces. It also discusses experimental conditions required in electrochemical and spectroscopic studies and presents practical solutions to perform efficient experiments. As such, it offers an invaluable resource for graduate and postgraduate students, as well as for all researchers in academic and industrial laboratories.

This monograph contains a survey on the role of chirality in ecotoxicological processes. The focus is on environmental trace analysis. Areas such as toxicology, ecotoxicology, synthetic chemistry, biology, and physics are also covered in detail in order to explain the different properties of enantiomers in environmental samples. This monograph delivers a comprehensive survey for environmental trace analysts, analytical chemists, ecotoxicologists, food scientists and experienced lab workers.

This book summarizes the most recent and compelling experimental results for complex oxide interfaces. The results of this book were obtained with the cutting-edge photoemission technique at highest energy resolution. Due to their fascinating properties for new-generation electronic devices and the challenge of investigating buried regions, the book chiefly focuses on complex oxide interfaces. The crucial feature of exploring buried interfaces is the use of soft X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) operating on the energy range of a few hundred eV to increase the photoelectron mean free path, enabling the photons to penetrate through the top layers - in contrast to conventional ultraviolet (UV)-ARPES techniques. The results presented here, achieved by different research groups around the world, are summarized in a clearly structured way and discussed in comparison with other photoemission spectroscopy techniques and other oxide materials. They are complemented and supported by the most recent theoretical calculations as well as results of complementary experimental techniques including electron transport and inelastic resonant X-ray scattering.