Other Volumes in the Series

This volume contains 50 articles describing analytical techniques for the characterization of solid materials, with emphasis on surfaces, interfaces, thin films, and microanalytical approaches. It is part of the Materials Characterization Series, copublished by Butterworth-Heinemann and Manning. This volume can serve as a stand-alone reference as well as a companion to the other volumes in the Series which deal with individual materials classes. Though authored by professional characterization experts the articles are written to be easily accessible to the materials user, the process engineer, the manager, the student—in short to all those who are not (and probably don t intend to be) experts but who need to understand the potential applications of the techniques to materials problems. Too often, technique descriptions are written for the technique specialist. 

It is a pleasure for me to introduce Volume 43 of Annual Reports on NMR Spectroscopy and to express my thanks to the reporters for their pellucid and refulgent accounts of NMR activities in a number of areas of molecular science. The volume commences with a report on Solid-State NMR Studies of Molecular Motion by M. J. Duer this is followed by a contribution from J. Higinbotham and I. Marshall on NMR Lineshapes and Lineshape Fitting Procedures the final chapter is on Recent Progress in Solid-State NMR of Low-7 Nuclei by M. E. Smith. My gratitude to the production staff at Academic Press (London) for their meticulous efforts in the realization of this, and other volumes in the series, is hereby recorded. 

In some oases these double chromate. are referred to under the various metals in other volumes in the series. 

Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis (Other Volumes In the Series)... 

This volume amply fulfils all objectives. Not only is it replete with case histories and how to information, it also has a greater emphasis on theoretical scientific principles than other volumes in the Series. This is an inevitable reflection of the relatively lower level of development of the techniques, and the complexity of controlling mechanisms of gaseous migration and long distance epigenetic dispersion of elements. 

Acknowledgments. The editors express their thanks to all contributors for their efforts in keeping to production schedules, and to Dr. Dieter Czeschlik and the staff of Springer-Verlag for their cooperation in preparing this and other volumes in the series Modern Methods of Plant Analysis. 

This book, as a part of the Wiley Series on Renewable Resources presents a wide range of bio-based plastics and highlights some of their applications. Emphasis is placed on materials that are presently in use or show a significant potential for future applications. The book contains an up-to-date, broad, but concise overview of basic and applied aspects of bioplastics. The main focus is on thermoplastic polymers for material use. Elastomers, thermosets and coating applications, like natural rubber or alkyd resins, will be covered in other volumes in the series. 

In this volume, as for the other volumes in the series, the goal is to provide a critical review of the literature and a thorough expianation of the most important physicochemical processes. This book is the result of the efforts of a number of authors, collaborators and students. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (lUPAC) provided much of the structure and funding, through the Division of Chemistry and the Environment, which allowed this project come to fruition. The role of the series editors. Professor H.P. van Leeuwen and Professor J. Buffle, is also greatly appreciated. 

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