Physical chemistry

Physical chemistry is the study of the physical basis of chemical systems and processes. Modern physical chemistry is firmly grounded upon physics. Important areas of study include chemical thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, electrochemistry, surface and solid state chemistry, and spectroscopy.

Physical chemistry is also fundamental to modern materials science.

Important physical chemists

• Svante Arrhenius
• Walther Nernst
• Fritz Haber
• Peter Debye
• J.W. Gibbs
• J.H. van 't Hoff
• Erich Hückel
• Wilhelm Ostwald
• Gilbert N. Lewis
• Friedrich Kohlrausch
• Frederick Lindemann
• Cyril Norman Hinshelwood
• Lars Onsager
• Robert S. Mulliken
• Michael Polanyi
• Linus Pauling
• E. Bright Wilson
• Irving Langmuir
• Jaroslav Heyrovský
• William Giauque
• Manfred Eigen
• Roald Hoffmann
• Dudley R. Herschbach
• Yuan T. Lee
• John Charles Polanyi
• Richard Bernstein
• Richard R. Ernst
• Rudolph A. Marcus
• Ahmed H. Zewail
• Richard Zare

See also

• Important publications in physical chemistry(chemistry), important publications in physical chemistry(physics)

Literature

• Physical Chemistry, P.W. Atkins, 1978, Oxford University Press ISBN 0–7167–3539–3
• Introduction to Modern Colloid Science, R.J. Hunter, 1993, Oxford University Press ISBN 0198553862
• Principles of Colloid and Surface Chemistry, P.C. Hiemenz, R. Rajagopalan, 1997, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York ISBN 0824793978
• Physical Chemistry, W.J. Moore, 1963 (4th Edition), Longmans, London/Prentice Hall, NJ, ISBN ????