Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering, Volume 1

This volume combines chapters orientated towards new materials with chapters on experimental progress in the study of electrochemical processes. G. P. Evans reviews the electrochemical properties of conducting polymers, materials which are most interesting from a theoretical point of view and promise to open up new fields of application. His approach gives a survey of the main classes of such polymers, describing their synthesis, structure, electronic and electrochemical properties and briefly their use as electrodes. R. Kotz reviews the application of the most powerful surface physics technique, photoelectron spectroscopy, for the elucidation of the composition of electrodes. He exemplifies the potential of this technique for materials which play a key role in electrochemical oxidation processes or are used in some other electrochemical production process. T. Iwasita-Vielstich shows how modern spectroscopic techniques enable us to analyze the mechanism of catalyzed multi-step electrode reactions of organic molecules by detecting intermediates. This demonstrates the current general trend in electrochemcial research involving the development of techniques that provide information on the atomic or molecular scale. With its axisymmetric transport and current distribution, the rotating hemispherical electrode complements the rotating disk as a tool for studying electrode processes. Der Tau Chin provides a valuable over view and summary of the fundamental theory and applications of this interesting device. A chapter on the theory and applications of electrochemical gas separation processes is presented by Jack Winnick. These alternatives for the removal of dilute components from gas streams in pure form are characterized by high selectivity, simplicity, and favourable economics. V. Brusic, J. Horkans and D. J. Barklay offer a review of the electrochemical aspects of fabrication and of evaluation of the stability of thin film storage media. Recent developments have led to improved thermodynamic stability, thereby rendering thin film disks suitable for high density storage applications.