| While we have never been able to obtain anything other than promises of chapters on fullerenes, which undoubtedly do exist, we have been able to obtain a chapter on a form of carbon that many believe to be fictitious or, at the least, very unstable. I speak of course, of the linear carbons known as carbynes. A colleague recently commented to me that he was relieved to read in a paper submitted for publication that such materials are "not stable on storage, even under argon." The first chapter in this volume, by Russian scientists who have long experience in the production of carbynes, therefore promises to be controversial. Whether there is any practical future for the use of carbynes in significant quantities remains to be seen. |
| The second chapter in this volume came about as a result of a discussion some years ago with a valued and much-missed colleague, Brian Kelly. Brian had been impressed with the writings of Dr. Hoinkis on the use of small-angle scattering phenomena, both x-ray and neutron, for the structural evaluation of carbonaceous materials and I therefore asked him if he would write this chapter. Ernst Hoinkis soon produced what I believe to be a state-of-the-art chapter on this subject, and I am sure it will prove to be an important reference for years to come. |
| The third and final chapter comes from two colleagues with whom it has been my privilege to have been associated for many years. Carbon has long been used as a catalyst support and as a catalyst in its own right, and it is these two aspects of its many interesting properties that are brought together in this fascinating contribution. The chapter provides an important introduction to the surface properties of carbonaceous materials and the ways in which these can be employed in a wide variety of important processes. |
| Once again we have a volume with contributions on a wide range of subjects provided by leading scientists from different parts of the world, in this case Russia, Germany, Spain, and the United States. |
| I cannot finish without pointing out that this is the silver jubilee edition of this series, which Phil Walker started just over thirty years ago. He asked me to join him as an editor beginning with volume 8 in 1973. When he retired I assumed total responsibility for the series, and now that we have reached this milestone I feel it is time for me to pass the responsibility to another colleague. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I can announce that the publishers have agreed to Dr. Ljubisa Radovic's joining me as editor for Volume 26 and to his appointment as sole editor thereafter. I am convinced that Dr. Radovic's appointment will serve this series well in the future. |
|
