The proceedings of the VIIth International Symposium on the Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts, are in line with the general scope of this series of events. Emphasis in all Symposia has been on the scientific aspects of the preparation of new and industrial catalysts, or on new methods of preparation, rather than on the catalytic reactions in which such solids are ultimately used. In the present context, the catalytic event itself has only been considered as another, though often decisive, method of catalyst characterization.

"Spillover and Mobility of Species and Solid Surfaces" collects the papers which were presented at the Fifth International Conference Spillover, either as oral or poster contributions, as well as the summaries of the invited lectures. This congress and its publication in the Studies on Surface Science and Catalysis series follow the tradition of previous conferences on spillover, initiated in Lyon, 1983, and continued in Leipzig, 1989, Kyoto 1993 and Dalian, 1997. For the fifth conference, held in S.L. el Escorial (Madrid), the organising committee has attempted to compile representative contributions which illustrate the advances in understanding the spillover phenomenon since 1997. Spillover is a process taking place during the interface of gas reactant molecules (mainly hydrogen and oxygen) on solid surfaces. However, different contributions to the more general area of the chemistry at surfaces, related with the mobility and migration of species, diffusion through membranes, fuel cell catalysts, etc., have also been included. In fact the title of the present volume summarizes this attempt to extend the conference topics towards dynamics at surfaces.Among the 70 contributions received, the 56 accepted papers were selected on the basis of the reports of at least two international reviewers, according to standards comparable to those applied for other specialised journals. These papers are from 21 different countries.

It has become a tradition that every four years, the Université Catholique de Louvain and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven jointly organize a symposium devoted to the scientific bases for the preparation of heterogeneous catalysts. These meetings bring together researchers from academia and industry and offer a forum for discussions on the chemistry involved in the preparation of industrial heterogeneous catalysts. This volume containing the Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts consists of papers summarizing most of the 139 oral communications and posters selected by the international scientific committee, composed of 27 experts in the field of catalyst preparation, holding an industrial or academia appointment.The contributions focus on the aspects of catalyst preparation. The main topics are: new approaches in catalyst preparation; advanced preparations of nanoporous and mesoporous catalysts; catalysts preparation for special performances and purposes; catalysts for environmental purposes; and molecular catalysis. Emphasis is put on the role that catalysis can play as an essential element of sustainable development.

This unique book covers the latest surface science studies on model catalysts, including single crystals, non-colloidal nanocatalysts, and nanoparticles in various forms with the control of size, shape and composition. This book addresses the issue of bridging “materials and pressure gaps” and also discusses the important issue of metal-oxide interface and hot electron flows in heterogeneous catalysis. The current development of in-situ surface techniques that is relevant to bridging “pressure gaps” is also highlighted.

This volume contains peer-reviewed manuscripts describing the scientific and technological advances presented at the 6th Natural Gas Conversion Sumposium held in Alaska in June 2001. This symposium continues the tradition of excellence and the status as the premier technical meeting in this area established by previous meetings.The 6th Natural Gas Conversion Symposium is conducted under the overall direction of the Organizing Committee. The Program Committee was responsible for the review, selection, editing of most of the manuscripts included in this volum. A standing International Advisory Board has ensured the effective long-term planning and the continuity and technical excellence of these meetings.

Surface science emerged in the 1960s with the development of reliable ultrahigh vacuum apparatus, providing exact structures of surfaces of metal single crystals, information about their compositions, and relationships between surface structure and composition and catalytic reaction rates. Catalysis, the acceleration of a chemical reaction by a catalyst (substance), provided much of the driving force for the early development of surface science. As surface science continues its rapid development, this book illustrates how it is still driven by the challenges of catalysis and how both theory and scanning tunneling microscopy have forcefully emerged as essential tools. It is also evident how surface science continues to serve as the foundation of catalytic science. This is a compendium written by leading surface scientists presenting an incisive assessment of up-to-date theoretical and experimental results constituting the foundation of fundamental understanding of surface catalysis. This paperback.

On January 1988, the ascertained and economically accessible reserves of Natural Gas (NG) amounted to over 144,000 billion cubic meters worldwide, corresponding to 124 billion tons of oil equivalents (comparable with the liquid oil reserves, which are estimated to be 138 billion TOE). It is hypothesized that the volume of NG reserve will continue to grow at the same rate of the last decade. Forecasts on production indicate a potential increase from about 2,000 billion cubic meters in 1990 to not more than 3,300 billion cubic meters in 2010, even in a high economic development scenario. NG consumption represents only one half of oil: 1.9 billion TOE/y as compared to 3.5 of oil. Consequently, in the future gas will exceed oil as a carbon atom source. In the future the potential for getting energetic vectors or petrochemicals from NG will continue to grow.The topics covered in Natural Gas Conversion V reflect the large global R&D effort to look for new and economic ways of NG exploitation. These range from the direct conversion of methane and light paraffins to the indirect conversion through synthesis gas to fuels and chemicals. Particularly underlined and visible are the technologies already commercially viable.These proceedings prove that mature and technologically feasible processes for natural gas conversion are already available and that new and improved catalytic approaches are currently developing, the validity and feasibility of which will soon be documented. This is an exciting area of modern catalysis, which will certainly open novel and rewarding perspectives for the chemical, energy and petrochemical industries.