Large Clusters of Atoms and Molecules

Sample

Boris Imelik, Jacques C. Vedrine

This unique reference critically analyzes the use and application of all major physical methods for determining the structure and behavior of catalysts. Each chapter presents a detailed description of a technique and its theoretical basis, a definition of its field of application, and examples of validity and limitation. Extensive cross referencing between chapters ensures seamless continuity as well as a holistic view of the field. This new edition covers the substantial progress made since its predecessor in characterization of catalysts.

Sample

Ji-Tao Wang

This book provides a framework for analysing complex systems for which classical thermodynamics is often not applicable. Since the success of the activated process in 1970, diamond growth with simultaneous graphite etching under low pressure has often been regarded as a violation of the second law of thermodynamics. A series of nonequilibrium phase diagrams, which agree excellently with the activated diamond experi- ments, have been calculated by the author and his coworkers on the basis of reaction coupling. The book goes on to de- monstrate how these lead to a complete new systematization of modern thermodynamics.

Sample

Pascal Richet

Given that thermodynamics books are not a rarity on the market, why would an additional one be useful? The answer is simple: at any level, thermodynamics is usually taught as a somewhat abstruse discipline where many students get lost in a maze of difficult concepts. However, thermodynamics is not as intricate a subject as most people feel. This book fills a niche between elementary textbooks and mathematically oriented treatises, and provides readers with a distinct approach to the subject. As indicated by the title, this book explains thermodynamic phenomena and concepts in physical terms before proceeding to focus on the requisite mathematical aspects. It focuses on the effects of pressure, temperature and chemical composition on thermodynamic properties and places emphasis on rapidly evolving fields such as amorphous materials, metastable phases, numerical simulations of microsystems and high-pressure thermodynamics. Topics like redox reactions are dealt with in less depth, due to the fact that there is already much literature available. Without requiring a background in quantum mechanics, this book also illustrates the main practical applications of statistical thermodynamics and gives a microscopic interpretation of temperature, pressure and entropy.<br/> This book is perfect for undergraduate and graduate students who already have a basic knowledge of thermodynamics and who wish to truly <em>understand</em> the subject and put it in a broader physical perspective. The book is aimed not at theoretical physicists, but rather at practitioners with a variety of backgrounds from physics to biochemistry for whom thermodynamics is a tool which would be better used if better understood.

Sample

Olivier Kahn

Molecular magnetism is a new field of research dealing with the synthesis and study of the physical properties of molecular assemblies involving open-shell units. It is essentially interdisciplinary, joining together organic, organometallic and inorganic chemists, as well as theoreticians, physicists and materials scientists. At the core of research into molecular magnetism lie design and synthesis of new molecular assemblies exhibiting bulk properties such as long-range magnetic ordering or bistability with an hysteresis effect, which confers a memory effect on the system. In such terms, magnetism may be considered a supramolecular function. The first eight contributions to this volume present the state of the art in organic supramolecular chemistry, emphasising interlocked systems and molecular trees. The following six articles are devoted to molecular materials constructed from organic radicals and transition metal units. Molecular bistability is then focused on, followed by metal-organic and coordination magnetic materials. A new approach to nano-sized particles closes the work.