The 52nd Colloid and Surface Science Symposium of the Divis ion of Colloid and Surface Chemistry of the American Chemical Society was held in Knoxville, TN, June 12-14, 1978, and one of its Sections was devoted to the topic of Solution Chemistry of Surfactants. Although it was billed as the Section on Solution Chemistry of Surfactants, but it was indeed a veritable inter national symposium on this topic as 51 papers by about 100 con tributors from 12 countries were listed in the program. The present volume and its companion volume 2 document the proceedings of the above-mentioned Section on Solution Chemistry of Surfactants. In 1976 there was held an international symposium on Micellization, Solubilization and Microemulsions in Albany, l the proceedings of which have been chronicled in two volumes. A great deal of material dealing with micelles contributed by a legion of prominent researchers constitutes these volumes but a few subtopics were not adequately covered; so it was deemed appro priate to cover these topics as well as the recent progress in the general area of aggregation of surfactants in this Section. Also as it is the amphiphilicity or amphipathicity* of a surfact ant molecule which is responsible for both adsorption at inter faces and aggregation in solution, so it was considered quite apropos to include the topic of adsorption at interfaces in this Section. Concomitantly, the present volumes not only cover the aggregation phenomena but also the adsorption at interfaces.

This book emphasises those features in solution chemistry which are difficult to measure, but essential for the understanding of both the qualitative and the quantitative aspects. Attention is paid to the mutual influences between solute and solvent, even at extremely small concentrations of the former. The described extension of the molecular concept leads to a broad view ? not by a change in paradigm ? but by finding the rules for the organizations both at the molecular and the supermolecular level of liquid and solid solutions.

The Frontiers in Chemistry Editorial Office team are delighted to present the inaugural “Frontiers in Chemistry: Rising Stars” article collection, showcasing the high-quality work of internationally recognized researchers in the early stages of their independent careers. All Rising Star researchers featured within this collection were individually nominated by the Journal’s Chief Editors in recognition of their potential to influence the future directions in their respective fields. The work presented here highlights the diversity of research performed across the entire breadth of the chemical sciences, and presents advances in theory, experiment and methodology with applications to compelling problems. This Editorial features the corresponding author(s) of each paper published within this important collection, ordered by section alphabetically, highlighting them as the great researchers of the future. The Frontiers in Chemistry Editorial Office team would like to thank each researcher who contributed their work to this collection. We would also like to personally thank our Chief Editors for their exemplary leadership of this article collection; their strong support and passion for this important, community-driven collection has ensured its success and global impact. Laurent Mathey, PhD Journal Development Manager