The subject matter of this book is not entirely new in that much has been written about the state of the interfacial chemistry in other textbooks. However, the authors have found that there is really a need for a book which can lead an investigator, a student, or a beginn er through the in-depth understanding and descriptions involved in the derivations and usage of the adsorption equations based on the unified concept of the Gibbs surface excess. The derivation of the original Gibbs equation for the liquid interface has been amplified with reformulations and criticisms. Attempts have been frequently made to relate the surface excess quantities with the thermodynamic properties of the physically defined interfacial phase. In the last two decades, useful applications of the Gibbs equations have been made for the study of adsorption at solid-liquid as weIl as liquid-gas interfaces formed in the presence of the multicomponent solutions in the bulk. These recent treatments become useful for the experimental studies of the adsorption of electrolytes and interfacial properties related to neutral and charged monolayers. The consistency of the experimental results with those to be expected from the theories of the electrical double layer needs careful examination. An attempt has been made to present in a single volume all these developments based on the unified concept of the Gibbs surface excess. The study of the adsorption from solution is of considerable importance in the field of biology and in many other branches of applied science.

Surface Chemistry Theory and Applications focuses on liquid-gas, liquid-liquid, solid-gas, solid-liquid, and solid-solid surfaces. The book first offers information on liquid-gas surfaces, including surface tension, measurement of surface tension, rate of capillarity rise, capillary attraction, bubble pressure and pore size, and surface tension and temperature. The text then ponders on liquid-liquid and solid-gas surfaces. Discussions focus on surface energy of solids, surface roughness and cleanness, adsorption of gases and vapors, adsorption hysteresis, interfacial tension, and interfacial tension in multicomponent systems. The manuscript takes a look at solid-liquid surfaces, as well as stagnant layers at solid-liquid interfaces, heat transfer, surface roughness or electrodes, adsorption of liquids heat of wetting, and thin metal films condensed from vapor. The text also examines solid-liquid-gas and solid-liquid-liquid surfaces and electric surface phenomena. The book is a vital source of information for readers interested in surface chemistry.