Catalysis in theory and practice [antikvár]

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION Progress in catalytic studies since the first edition of this volume has necessitated a conaplete revision of the text and the addition of several new chapters. Advances are recorded in both the theoretical and practical field. The concept of " active " molecules first postulated by Arrhenius is beginning to assume at least the shadow of an objective reality, and the processes of activation explored by the physicist are being earnestly sought for in chemical reactions. In contact catalysis, experimental investigations have yielded a definite concept of the solid catalytic agent, its properties and behaviour, all of which could only be surmised some years ago. In the domain of theoretical homogeneous catalysis, very definite progress in correlating the data of catalysis with the thermodynamic properties of solutions can be recorded, and a commencement has been made in the inquiry as to the conditions of stability of associated complexes and their electronic structure. In the applied science, the record of a new, high-pressure, catalytic industrial process, the synthesis of methyl alcohol and motor fuels from water gas, will serve to show what further potentialities are latent in the field. The character of the volume remains the same. No attempt is made to make of it an extensive bibliography of catalytic literature. The rapidity with which the science is growing practically makes that an impossibility. It aims to present a critical survey of the catalytic field from the standpoint of the theory of the subject. It is the belief of the authors that any extension of our theoretical knowledge will cause the practical application to be more readily achieved. We welcome the appearance of a second edition of Sabatier's monumental work, La Catalyse en chimie organique, both in an original French and an amplified English translation. It forms a very valuable complement, we believe, to the present volume, which, we hope, will be of value also to the organic chemist, stressing as it does