(from preface)

The publication of this volume takes place in the shadow of the sudden and unexpected loss, to the Advances in Catalysis, of two of its prominent founders, and, to the world, of two beloved members of the community of scientists, Dr. W. G. Frankenburg and Dr. V. I. Komarewsky. It seems appropriate to turn back to the Preface of Volume I of the Advances, and to examine the views and hopes which the editors expressed one decade ago concerning the status of the catalytic science and the role which they visualized for the then new-born publication.
In viewing the scope of knowledge concerning catalytic phenomena they noted the dominance of empirical method in catalysis, and expressed the view that "a science of catalysis has to be erected on foundations which still have to be laid." They visualized the Advances as serving as a link and point of concentration of some of the most significant developments in knowledge of catalysis which then was ''scattered throughout various journals and handbooks, covering the range from theoretical physics to descriptions of industrial plants."