There is a special reason for reviewing this book at this time: it is the 50th edition of a compendium that is known and used frequently in most chemical and physical laboratories in many parts of the world. Surely, a publication that has been published for 56 years, withstanding the vagaries of science in this century, must have had something to offer. There is another reason: while the book is a standard fixture in most chemical and physical laboratories, including those in medical centers, it is not as frequently seen in the laboratories of physician's offices (those either in solo or group practice). I believe that the Handbook can be useful in those laboratories. One of the reasons, among others, is that the various basic items of information it offers may be helpful in new tests, either physical or chemical, which are continuously being published. The basic information may relate

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

Hydrogen assisted catalytic combustion of methane on platinum

Monolithic three-way catalysts are applied to reduce the emission of combustion engines. The design of such a catalytic converter is a complex process involving the optimization of different physical and chemical parameters (in the simplest case, e.g., length, cell densities or metal coverage of the catalyst). Numerical simulation can be used as an effective tool for the investigation of the catalytic properties of a catalytic converter and for the prediction of the performance of the catalyst. To attain this goal, a two-dimensional flow-field description is coupled with a detailed surface reaction model (gas-phase reactions can be neglected in three-way catalysts). This surface reaction mechanism (with C3H6 taken as representative of unburnt hydrocarbons) was developed using sub-mechanisms recently developed for hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane oxidation, literature values for C3H6
oxidation, and estimates for the remaining unknown reactions. Results of the simulation of a monolithic single channel are used to validate the surface reaction mechanism. The performance of the catalyst was simulated under lean, nearly stoichiometric and rich conditions. For these characteristic conditions, the oxidation of propene and carbon monoxide and the reduction of NO on a typical Pt/Rh coated three-way catalyst were simulated as a function of temperature. The numerically predicted conversion data are compared with experimentally measured data. The simulation further reveals the coupling between chemical reactions and transport processes within the monolithic channel.

Detailed surface reaction mechanism in a three-way catalyst

Indirect nanoplasmonic sensing is a novel experimental platform for measurements of thermodynamics and kinetics in/on nanomaterials and thin films. It features simple experimental setup, high sensitivity, small sample amounts, high temporal resolution (<10(-3) s), operating conditions from UHV to high pressure, wide temperature range, and applicability to any nano- or thin film material. The method utilizes two-dimensional arrangements of nanoplasmonic Au sensor-nanoparticles coated with a thin dielectric spacer layer onto which the sample material is deposited. The measured signal is spectral shifts of the Au-sensor localized plasmons, induced by processes in/on the sample material. Here, the method is applied to three systems exhibiting nanosize effects, (i) the glass transition of confined polymers, (ii) catalytic light-off on Pd nanocatalysts, and (iii) thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen uptake/release in Pd nanoparticles <5 nm. In (i) and (iii), dielectric changes in the sample are detected, while (ii) demonstrates a novel optical nanocalorimetry method.

Indirect Nanoplasmonic Sensing: Ultrasensitive Experimental Platform for Nanomaterials Science and Optical Nanocalorimetry

The article contains sections titled:



1.	Introduction	
1.1.	Types of Catalysis	
1.2.	Catalysis as a Scientific Discipline	
1.3.	Industrial Importance of Catalysis	
1.4.	History of Catalysis	
2.	Theoretical Aspects	
2.1.	Principles and Concepts	
2.1.1.	Sabatier's Principle	
2.1.2.	The Principle of Active Sites	
2.1.3.	Surface Coordination Chemistry	
2.1.4.	Modifiers and Promoters	
2.1.5.	Active Phase – Support Interactions	
2.1.6.	Spillover Phenomena	
2.1.7.	Phase-Cooperation and Site-Isolation Concepts	
2.1.8.	Shape-Selectivity Concept	
2.1.9.	Principles of the Catalytic Cycle	
2.2.	Kinetics of Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactions	
2.2.1.	Concepts of Reaction Kinetics (Microkinetics)	
2.2.2.	Application of Microkinetic Analysis	
2.2.3.	Langmuir – Hinshelwood – Hougen – Watson Kinetics	
2.2.4.	Activity and Selectivity	
2.3.	Molecular Modeling in Heterogeneous Catalysis	
2.3.1.	Density Functional Theory	
2.3.2.	Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulation	
2.3.3.	Mean-Field Approximation	
2.3.4.	Development of Multistep Surface Reaction Mechanisms	
3.	Development of Solid Catalysts	
4.	Classification of Solid Catalysts	
4.1.	Unsupported (Bulk) Catalysts	
4.1.1.	Metal Oxides	
4.1.1.1.	Simple Binary Oxides	
4.1.1.2.	Complex Multicomponent Oxides	
4.1.2.	Metals and Metal Alloys	
4.1.3.	Carbides and Nitrides	
4.1.4.	Carbons	
4.1.5.	Ion-Exchange Resins and Ionomers	
4.1.6.	Molecularly Imprinted Catalysts	
4.1.7.	Metal – Organic Frameworks	
4.1.8.	Metal Salts	
4.2.	Supported Catalysts	
4.2.1.	Supports	
4.2.2.	Supported Metal Oxide Catalysts	
4.2.3.	Surface-Modified Oxides	
4.2.4.	Supported Metal Catalysts	
4.2.5.	Supported Sulfide Catalysts	
4.2.6.	Hybrid Catalysts	
4.2.7.	Ship-in-a-Bottle Catalysts	
4.2.8.	Polymerization Catalysts	
4.3.	Coated Catalysts	
5.	Production of Heterogeneous Catalysts	
5.1.	Unsupported Catalysts	
5.2.	Supported Catalysts	
5.2.1.	Supports	
5.2.2.	Preparation of Supported Catalysts	
5.3.	Unit Operations in Catalyst Production	
6.	Characterization of Solid Catalysts	
6.1.	Physical Properties	
6.1.1.	Surface Area and Porosity	
6.1.2.	Particle Size and Dispersion	
6.1.3.	Structure and Morphology	
6.1.4.	Local Environment of Elements	
6.2.	Chemical Properties	
6.2.1.	Surface Chemical Composition	
6.2.2.	Valence States and Redox Properties	
6.2.3.	Acidity and Basicity	
6.3.	Mechanical Properties	
6.4.	Characterization of Solid Catalysts under Working Conditions	
6.4.1.	Temporal Analysis of Products (TAP Reactor)	
6.4.2.	Use of Isotopes	
6.4.3.	Use of Substituents, Selective Feeding, and Poisoning	
6.4.4.	Spatially Resolved Analysis of the Fluid Phase over a Catalyst	
6.4.5.	Spectroscopic Techniques	
7.	Design and Technical Operation of Solid Catalysts	
7.1.	Design Criteria for Solid Catalysts	
7.2.	Catalytic Reactors	
7.2.1.	Classification of Reactors	
7.2.2.	Laboratory Reactors	
7.2.3.	Industrial Reactors	
7.2.4.	Special Reactor Types and Processes	
7.2.5.	Simulation of Catalytic Reactors	
7.3.	Catalyst Deactivation and Regeneration	
7.3.1.	Different Types of Deactivation	
7.3.2.	Catalyst Regeneration	
7.3.3.	Catalyst Reworking and Disposal	
8.	Industrial Application and Mechanisms of Selected Technically Relevant Reactions	
8.1.	Synthesis Gas and Hydrogen	
8.2.	Ammonia Synthesis	
8.3.	Methanol and Fischer – Tropsch Synthesis	
8.3.1.	Methanol Synthesis	
8.3.2.	Fischer – Tropsch Synthesis	
8.4.	Hydrocarbon Transformations	
8.4.1.	Selective Hydrocarbon Oxidation Reactions	
8.4.1.1.	Epoxidation of Ethylene and Propene	
8.4.1.2.	Ammoxidation of Hydrocarbons	
8.4.2.	Hydroprocessing Reactions	
8.5.	Environmental Catalysis	
8.5.1.	Catalytic Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides from Stationary Sources	
8.5.2.	Automotive Exhaust Catalysis

B. Kasemo

Papers

Experimental and numerical investigation of the catalytic ignition of mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen on platinum