It may be argued that silicon, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and iron are among the most important elements on our planet, because of their involvement in geological, biol- ical, and technological processes and phenomena. All of these elements have been studied exhaustively, and voluminous material is available on their properties. Included in this material are numerous accounts of their electrochemical properties, ranging from reviews to extensive monographs to encyclopedic discourses. This is certainly true for C, H, O, and Fe, but it is true to a much lesser extent for Si, except for the specific topic of semiconductor electrochemistry. Indeed, given the importance of the elect- chemical processing of silicon and the use of silicon in electrochemical devices (e. g. , sensors and photoelectrochemical cells), the lack of a comprehensive account of the electrochemistry of silicon in aqueous solution at the fundamental level is surprising and somewhat troubling. It is troubling in the sense that the non-photoelectrochemistry of silicon seems “to have fallen through the cracks,” with the result that some of the electrochemical properties of this element are not as well known as might be warranted by its importance in a modern technological society. Dr. Zhang’s book, Electrochemical Properties of Silicon and Its Oxide, will go a long way toward addressing this shortcoming. As with his earlier book on the elect- chemistry of zinc, the present book provides a comprehensive account of the elect- chemistry of silicon in aqueous solution.

By means of electrochemical treatment, crystalline silicon can be permeated with tiny, nanostructured pores that entirely change the characteristics and properties of the material. One prominent example of this can be seen in the interaction of porous silicon with living cells, which can be totally unwilling to settle on smooth silicon surfaces but readily adhere to porous silicon, giving rise to great hopes for such future applications as programmable drug delivery or advanced, braincontrolled prosthetics. Porous silicon research is active in the fields of sensors, tissue engineering, medical therapeutics and diagnostics, photovoltaics, rechargeable batteries, energetic materials, photonics, and MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems). Written by an outstanding, well-recognized expert in the field, this book provides detailed, step-by-step instructions to prepare and characterize the major types of porous silicon. It is intended for those new to the fi eld. Sampling of topics covered: * Principles of Etching Porous Silicon * Etch Cell Construction and Considerations * Photonic Crystals, Microcavities, and Bragg Stacks Etched in Silicon * Preparation of Free-standing Films and Particles of Porous Silicon * Preparation of Photoluminescent Nanoparticles from Porous Silicon * Preparation of Silicon Nanowires by Electrochemical Etch of Silicon * Surface Modifi cation Chemistry and Biochemistry * Measurement of Optical Properties * Measurement of Pore Size, Porosity, Thickness, Surface Area The whole is backed by a generous use of color photographs to illustrate the described procedures in detail, plus a bibliography of further literature pertinent to a wide range of application fi elds. For materials scientists, chemists, physicists, optical physicists, biomaterials scientists, neurobiologists, bioengineers, and graduate students in those fields, as well as those working in the semiconductor industry.

Silicon has been and will most probably continue to be the dominant material in semiconductor technology. Although the defect-free silicon single crystal is one of the best understood systems in materails science, its electrochemistry to many people is still a kind of "alchemy". This view is partly due to the interdisciplinary aspects of the topic: Physics meets chemistry at the silicon-electrolyte interface. This book gives a comprehensive overview of this important aspect of silicon technology as well as examples of applications ranging from photonic crystals to biochips. It will serve materials scientists as well as engineers involved in silicon technology as a quick reference with its more than 150 technical tables and diagrams and ca. 1000 references cited for easy access of the original literature.

This is the first of two volumes offering the very first comprehensive treatise of self-organization and non-linear dynamics in electrochemical systems. The second volume covers spatiotemporal patterns and the control of chaos. The content of both volumes is organized so that each description of a particular electrochemical system is preceded by an introduction to basic concepts of nonlinear dynamics, in order to help the reader unfamiliar with this discipline to understand at least fundamental concepts and the methods of stability analysis. The presentation of the systems is not limited to laboratory models but stretches out to real-life objects and processes, including systems of biological importance, such as neurons in living matter. Marek Orlik presents a comprehensive and consistent survey of the field.

Proceedings symposia sponsored by the Extraction & Processing Division (EPD) of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) Held during the TMS 2012 Annual Meeting & Exhibition Orlando, Florida, USA, March 11-15,2012

Silicon The expert reference on sustainable and energy-efficient production of photovoltaic-grade silicon materials Electrochemical methods, in particular molten-salt approaches, are a cost-effective, energy-efficient, and highly sustainable approach for producing solar-grade silicon. Surface micro- and nanostructuring methods for effective light harvesting, silicon electrorefining in molten salts, electrodeposition of photoresponsive films, and other related processes are likely to replace conventional carbothermic production methods. Silicon: Electrochemistry, Production, Purification and Applications presents an up-to-date summary of recent experimental and technological developments in the field, highlighting sustainable and energy-efficient processes for high-grade silicon production for a variety of photovoltaic and energy applications. Presented in a logical and concise format, this authoritative volume details the fundamental properties and technical processes of metal-grade silicon production and describes the various electrochemical methods for high-grade silicon production. Topics include silicon surface modification, chemical-physical structuring, porous and black silicon, electrochemical Si surface structuring and anodizing in molten salts, and more. Reviews the sustainable and energy-efficient production and purification of photovoltaic-grade silicon materials Summarizes recent progress in sustainable processes for high-grade silicon production Describes electrochemical methods for silicon production such as electrolysis, electrodeposition, and electrorefining Concludes with a discussion of future challenges and opportunities Written by a leading researcher in the field, Silicon: Electrochemistry, Production, Purification and Applications is a valuable resource for chemists and material scientists in academia and industry, particularly those working in sustainable energy development, photovoltaics, light harvesting efficiency, solar-to-chemical conversion, and production of solar-grade silicon, batteries, photoelectrodes, or silicon-based semiconductors.