This comprehensive reference collects fundamental theories and recent research from a wide rang of fields including biology, biochemistry, physics, applied mathematics and computer, materials, surface, and colloid science- providing key references, tools, and analytical techniques for practical applications in industrial, agricultural, and forensic processes, as well as in the production of natural and synthetic compounds such as foods, minerals, paints, proteins, pharmaceuticals, polymers, and soaps.

Providing clear and concise features which reinforce essential concepts in the text, the Encyclopedia of Surface and Colloid Science discusses the latest developments in drug delivery, enzyme behavior, and protein adsorption...current utilization of colloids, emulsions, foams, gels, and fine particles…chemical behavior at electro-chemical, fluid-fluid, polymer, soil, mineral, and atmospheric boundaries…mechanisms of catalysis, transport, and adsorption…characterization of fatty acids and lipids…commercial uses for membranes…and contemporary modes of environmental remediation.

"The articles are written in a way that serves both the expert, as well as the non-colloid/surface scientist who needs a quick, in-depth tutorial on a particular or several colloid/interfacial subjects. Given the breadth of the field, the topics dealt with in the Encyclopedia cover a rather large spectrum of industrial and academic interest."
Kyriakos Papadopoulos
Chemical Engineering Department
Tulane University- New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.


"…well done….will be useful for any science or engineering collection at the college-level or above."
ARBAonline


"…a massive four-volume information reference which is unique for its in-depth and in-breadth coverage."
E-Streams

Preface

The editor and the authors welcome you to the Encyclopedia of Surface and Colloid Science, whether you are a student encountering colloid and interface science for the first time, a senior scientist desiring to become more familiar with surfaces, or a specialist browsing for new results, ideas and insights. Interface science, including colloid chemistry, is an area of rapid progress that is important for its fundamental significance and its practical applicability. This Encyclopedia draws together the interface-related aspects of the fields of chemistry, materials sciences and engineering, biology, physics, computer sciences and applied mathematics. Over the years, the scope of interface science has broadened beyond the limits of any single discipline to include a wide range of endeavors in which chemical behavior at the boundaries of matter is synthesized, characterized, described theoretically, modified, and applied for practical purposes. Natural interfaces of this genre are essential to all living systems, while synthetic interfaces play important roles in regard to catalysis, foods, filtration, lubrication, mineral processing, paints, pharmaceuticals, polymers, soaps, soils, and in a host of other areas. It is a fact that each year more than 100,000 publications are added to the literature covered by this Encyclopedia. Accordingly, we endeavor to communicate the essence of this important area, to define its terminology, explain its concepts, point to the key references, identify important applications, tutor, elucidate, analyze, and suggest directions for future work. The authors of the Encyclopedia are distinguished contributors to their specialized fields of endeavor, and we hope that you will find the writing to be especially stimulating, lucid and informative, as a result.

Arthur Hubbard
Santa Barbara Science Project
Santa Barbara, California 93140-2530
USA