Fifty years ago solution chemistry occupied a major fraction of physical chemistry textbooks, and dealt mainly with classical thermodynamics, phase equilibria, and non-equilibrium phenomena, especially those related to electrochemistry. Much has happened in the intervening period, with tremendous advances in theory and the development of important new experimental techniques. This book brings the reader through the developments from classical macroscopic descriptions to more modern microscopic details.

W. Ronald Fawcett's profile page

William Ronald Fawcett was born in Canada and educated at the University of Toronto where he obtained a B.Sc. in physics and chemistry in 1960. He continued his studies at Toronto carrying out research in the laboratory of Michael Dignam, and received a Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1964. He then spent two years as NATO Post-Doctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Roger Parsons at the University of Bristol in England. In 1966 he joined the faculty of the Chemistry Department at the University of Guelph in Canada where he established a research program in interfacial electrochemistry with emphasis on non-aqueous electrolyte systems. In 1984 he moved to the University of California in Davis as Professor of Analytical Chemistry. His published research involves the physical chemistry of non-aqueous solutions, interfacial electrochemistry, and electrode kinetics.

"With remarkable clarity of writing, Fawcett (Univ. of California, Davis) builds on a solid foundation of chemical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics to accomplish precisely the goal set out in this book's subtitle. In a beautiful synthesis of modern chemical physics and classical physical chemistry, he moves seamlessly from macroscopic descriptions of liquids, solutions, and interfaces to the microscopic details ultimately responsible for their properties. Theoretical discussions are complete and rigorous, yet transparentely straightforward. Revelavent experimental results are strategically presented and anchor the theory, preventing it from becoming too abstract. The author has clear command of the relevant literature and current research that is complemented by keen insight into the key conclusions to be drawn from each example." -- Choice

"This book is excellent not only for students but also for teachers to organize their lectures in the field, as well as to researchers wishing to find a thorough and lucid treatment of an area which is not comprehensively found either in books on solutions, or in electrochemical books. Very often dealing with interfaces does not include knowledge of solutions, as well as dealing with solutions may go together with ignoring what happens in interfacial regions. Electrochemical interfaces border with liquids on one side and solids on the other side. This books fills the gap related to the former border." -- Electrochimica Acta