The rates of chemical processes and their variation with conditions have been studied for many years, usually for the purpose of determining reaction mechanisms. Thus, the subject of chemical kinetics is a very extensive and important part of chemistry as a whole, and has acquired an enormous literature. Despite the number of books and reviews, in many cases it is by no means easy to find the required information on specific reactions or types of reaction or on more general topics in the field. It is the purpose of this series to provide a background reference work, which will enable such information to be obtained either directly, or from the original papers or reviews quoted.
The aim is to cover, in a reasonably critical way, the practice and theory of kinetics and the kinetics of inorganic and organic reactions in gaseous and condensed phases and at interfaces (excluding biochemical and electrochemical kinetics, however, unless very relevant) in more or less detail. The series will be divided into sections covering a relatively wide field; a section will consist of one or more volumes, each containing a number of articles written by experts in the various topics.
Mechanisms will be thoroughly discussed and relevant non-kinetic data will be mentioned in this context. The methods of approach to the various topics will, of necessity, vary somewhat depending on the subject and the author(s) concerned. It is obviously impossible to classify chemical reactions in a completely logical manner, and the editors have in general based their classification on types of chemical element, compound or reaction rather than on mechanisms, since views on the latter are subject to change. Some duplication is inevitable, but it is felt that this can be a help rather than a hindrance. Since all kinetic work commences with the accumulation of experimental data, this first volume deals with the methods used for determining the rates of "slow", "fast" and heterogeneous reactions, together with those for the detection and quantitative determination of labile intermediates. A chapter is also devoted to the processing of the primary data - where appropriate, with the aid of statistical methods.