Fundamentals of Interface and Colloid Science (FICS) is a standard reference work with an educational nature. The emphasis is on the basic facts and phenomena, which are systematically explained.
FICS aims to make interface and colloid science accessible to a wide audience. Interface and colloid science is an important and fascinating field, but one that is often overlooked and undervalued. It has applications as diverse as agriculture, mineral dressing, oil recovery, industrial chemistry, medical science and biotechnology.
A deductive approach is followed, with systems of growing complexity being treated as the book progresses. Volume I: Fundamentals (1st ed. 1991, 2nd ed. 1993) reviews the physical chemistry required to understand current literature on interfacial and colloid science. The volume starts from first principles and gradually increases the level. Volume II: Solid-Liquid Interfaces (1995) treats the subject systematically for the first time, including adsorption, double layers and electronkinetics. Volume III: Interface Tension covers interfacial tensions, monolayers and wetting.
Key Features
* Accessible to a wide audience without a detailed knowledge of physics and chemistry
* Complex mathematical derivations are kept to a minimum
* Treats interfacial and colloidal phenomena from first principles (advanced command of physics and chemistry not required)
* Takes the reader from elementary to expert level
* Acts as a reference and a textbook
* Contains extensive and detailed cumulative subject index

Interface and colloid science is an important, though often under-valued, branch of science. It has applications and ramifications in domains as disparate as agriculture, mineral dressing, oil recovery, chemical industry, biotechnology, medical science, and many more. Proper application of interface and colloid science requires factual knowledge and insight into the many basic laws of physics and chemistry upon which it is based. Fundamentals of Interface and Colloid Science is the first book to cover this field in the depth neccessary to be a valuable reference and an excellent textbook.
From the beginning to the end of the book, systems of growing complexity are treated gradually. The presentation is particularly suited to emphasize that interfaces are not autonomous phases. As a rule, interfacial properties can be varied only by changing the adjoining phases, so that the properties of these bulk phases must be understood first. The text also recognizes common principles behind a variety of phenomena, and helps the reader to understand them and to develop and improve processes. The systematic treatment of the material in the book makes this clear, and makes the text itself an important contribution to the field.
Key Features
* Systematic treatment of information
* An excellent addition to volume I
* Two chapters contributed by other experts in the field
* Uses a deductive approach to increase the order of complexity
* Written by a leading expert in the field
* Two chapters contributed by other outstanding scientists
* Uses a systematic and deductive approach
* First comprehensive review of the topic

This volume sets out the fundamental physical chemical concepts behind interface and colloid science. Starting from elementary principles, including those of classical thermodynamics and intermolecular interaction, it gradually progresses to more advanced topics such as partition functions and stochastic processes.
Relevant mathematical techniques are explained in appendices. All that is required of the reader is a basic knowledge of physical chemistry, and research workers and graduates interested in colloid and interface science will welcome the wide ranging knowledge presented by the author and a team of experts. The discussions of many applications make the book of particular interest to those involved in practical research.
Key Features
* Provides a general physical chemical background to interface and colloid science
* Explains and elaborates phenomena starting from basic principles and progresses to more advanced topics
* includes classical thermodynamics and the description of intermolecular interactions, partition functions, stochastic processes and dynamic light scattering
* Required mathematical techniques are described in appendices