This book provides an outline of theoretical concepts and their experimental verification in studies of self-organization phenomena in chemical systems, as they emerged in the mid-20th century and have evolved since. Presenting essays on selected topics, it was prepared by authors who have made profound contributions to the field. Traditionally, physical chemistry has been concerned with interactions between atoms and molecules that produce a variety of equilibrium structures - or the 'dead' order - in a stationary state. But biological cells exhibit a different 'living' kind of order, prompting E. Schroedinger to pose his famous question "What is life?" in 1943. Through an unprecedented theoretical and experimental development, it was later revealed that biological self-organization phenomena are in complete agreement with the laws of physics, once they are applied to a special class of thermodynamically open systems and non-equilibrium states. This knowledge has in turn led to the design and synthesis of simple inorganic systems capable of self-organization effects. These artificial 'living organisms' are able to operate on macroscopic to microscopic scales, even down to single-molecule machines. In the future, such research could provide a basis for a technological breakthrough, comparable in its impact with the invention of lasers and semiconductors. Its results can be used to control natural chemical processes, and to design artificial complex chemical processes with various functionalities. The book offers an extensive discussion of the history of research on complex chemical systems and its future prospects.

This second review volume is a follow-up to the book "Engineering of Chemical Complexity" that appeared in 2013. Co-edited by the Nobel laureate Gerhard Ertl, this book provides a broad perspective over the current research aimed at understanding, the design and control of complex chemical systems of various origins, on the scales ranging from single molecules and nano-phenomena to macroscopic chemical reactors. Self-organization behavior and emergence of coherent collective dynamics in reaction-diffusion systems, in active soft matter and biochemical networks are discussed. Special attention is paid to applications in cell biology, to molecular motors and microfluidics effects. The reviews, prepared by leading international experts from the EU, USA, Russia and Japan, together yield a fascinating picture of a rapidly developing research discipline that brings chemical engineering to new frontiers.

This review volume, co-edited by Nobel laureate G Ertl, provides a broad overview on current studies in the understanding of design and control of complex chemical systems of various origins, on scales ranging from single molecules and nano-phenomena to macroscopic chemical reactors. Self-organizational behavior and the emergence of coherent collective dynamics in reaction diffusion systems, reactive soft matter and chemical networks are covered. Special attention is paid to the applications in molecular cell biology and to the problems of biological evolution, synthetic biology and design of artificial living cells. Starting with a detailed introduction on the history of research on complex chemical systems, its current state of the art and perspectives, the book comprises 19 chapters that survey the current progress in particular research fields. The reviews, prepared by leading international experts, yield together a fascinating picture of a rapidly developing research discipline that brings chemical engineering to new frontiers.