02/25/2004 -
Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry, Volume 6: Semiconductor Electrodes and Photoelectrochemistry (2002)
by Stuart Licht
ISBN 3-527-30398-7. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany. 2002. Hardcover. 597 pages. $430.
Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies chemical change associated with electrons and electricity. In its modern-day incarnation, it covers the organic, inorganic, and biological systems. This volume covers developments in electrochemistry as it applies to reactions that occur when light interacts with matter. Fundamental research topics as well as specific areas of applied research are addressed. While it serves as a great reference on the science of this new field, the book does not address in depth either the status of product development or the challenges of mass-production technologies.
The purported aim of this encyclopedia is to provide an up-to-date electrochemical source for engineers, scientists, and students, but the target audience includes people in other fields that use electrochemistry. This is a diverse population with significantly differing needs, and while this volume will be appropriate for some (e.g., researchers and graduate students), it might be a difficult read for non-electrochemists.
The first chapter, which covers fundamentals of semiconductor electrochemistry and photochemistry, provides an excellent introduction to this rapidly evolving field of science. This chapter is extremely useful to non-electrochemists who are attempting to understand the impact of this field of science with technologies such like microelectronics, environmental remediation, sensors, solar cells, and energy storage. Most of these issues are discussed in detail in subsequent chapters. Chapter 1 is perhaps the only self-contained chapter. Following a review of the history of this technical field the simpler concept of the semiconductor energy band model is addressed. The author introduces the reader to semiconductor electrolyte interactions, first in the dark and then in the presence of light. The final section of this chapter introduces the various types of electrochemical devices that could use this technology (e.g., for solar energy conversion).
Subsequent chapters cover experimental techniques, semiconductor nanostructures, solar energy conversion without and with dye sensitizations, and non-solar energy applications, including photo catalysis, optical image recording, and photochemical etching.
The layout of the book defies the conventional definition of a textbook. It is divided into six chapters, with each chapter further subdivided into three or four papers from individual contributors. Each contribution reads as a review of research conducted by the contributor as opposed to a general review of the area under discussion. Also, each article has an extensive bibliography that will prove valuable for a researcher in these scientific areas.
The illustrations in the book are easy to understand, well captioned, and mesh well with the text.
For a collection of this magnitude, there is a limited amount of cross-referencing (between the sub-chapters and across the book). Thus, each article stands alone, making this book a difficult read for students and engineers who practice electrochemistry. This does limit its usefulness to graduate students and researchers in universities.
This volume is most useful to professional researchers and is recommended for large academic collections or libraries serving industrial chemical research facilities.
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