Nonlinearity Of Colloid Systems: Oxyhydrate Systems (Materials Science Foundations,)

The present monograph is the first systematic study of the non-linear characteristic of gel oxyhydrate systems involving d- and f- elements. These are the oxyhydrates of rare-earth elements and oxides - hydroxides of d- elements (zirconium, niobium, titanium, etc.) The non-linearity of these gel systems introduces fundamental peculiarities into their structure and, consequently, their properties.The polymer-conformational diversity of energetically congenial gel fragments, which continuously transform under the effect of, for instance, system dissipation heat, is central to the au-thor's hypothesis of the oscillatory - periodic occurrence (motion) of gel structures; even in the air-dry state. This theory permits the accurate description of many of the observed properties of gel oxyhydrate systems, and the prediction of new ones. Also analyzed is the effect of various fields (electromagnetic, magnetic and electrostatic) upon the polymer structures of oxyhydrates with the aim of, for instance, enhancing their sorption capacity and reproducibility.This book will be particularly interesting for scientists and for students majoring in chemistry, physics or engineering; as well as for anybody who may be interested in the physical and chemical problems of non-equilibrium processes.