This will be the first book to cover the basic scientific principles underlying the field of
surfaces and interfaces. It will prepare students and allow researchers to address issues in
fields as diverse as biomaterials, microelectronics, adhesion and polymer science.
Fundamental understanding of kinetics, thermodynamics and chemical bonding will be
illustrated in surface reconstruction, wetting, nucleation and catalysis. Phenomena such as
surface tension, surface phase equilibria, adhesion and adsorption will be fully explained,
and the power and limitations of surface characterization techniques will be discussed,
including spectroscopic characterization, contact angle and thermal desorption.