This book gradually brings the reader, through illustrations of the most crucial discoveries, into the modern world of chemical catalysis. Readers and experts will better understand the enormous influence that catalysis has given to the development of modern societies.

•    Highlights the field's onset up to its modern days, covering the life and achievements of luminaries of the catalytic era
•    Appeals to general audience in interpretation and analysis, but preserves the precision and clarity of a scientific approach
•    Fills the gap in publications that cover the history of specific catalytic processes

Adriano Zecchina, Ph.D, is Professor Emeritus of the University of Turin, where he was full professor of physical chemistry from 1975 to 2009. He is a member of the National Academy of Lincei and Academia Europaea. His research is mainly devoted to studying the surface properties of catalytic materials with spectroscopic methods.

Salvatore Califano, Ph.D, is the director of the European Laboratory of Molecular Spectroscopy in Florence, Italy. His main research focuses on dynamics of molecular crystals and determination of the lifetime of phonons and vibrons by pico- and femtosecond spectroscopy or by high-resolution infrared and Raman spectroscopy.