Local, Organizing, Committee, welcomes, 13th International Workshop, on Sol-Gel Science, Technology, to be held in Los Angeles, California

...announcing a New Feature, THE SOL-GEL PRODUCT NEWS... Use our free online sample copy link to view this new feature. SOL-GEL PRODUCT NEWS contributors, please click "Instructions for Authors" for special instructions! Advances in new, high-performance materials for structural and functional applications depend today on developments in materials processing, which allow for structural contol at atomic and molecular (nano- and micro-) scales. "Sol-gel" processing is one of the most efficient means of tailoring such properties, and opens the way for the development and production of novel high-technology materials.

The primary objective of the Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology (JSST), the official journal of the International Sol-Gel Society (ISGS - http://www.isgs.org/), is to provide an international forum for the dissemination of scientific, technological, and general knowledge about materials processed by chemical nanotechnologies known as the "sol-gel" process. The materials of interest include gels, gel-derived glasses, ceramics in form of nano- and micro-powders, bulk, fibres, thin films and coatings as well as more recent materials such as hybrid organic-inorganic materials and composites. Such materials exhibit a wide range of optical, electronic, magnetic, chemical, environmental, and biomedical properties and functionalities. Methods for producing sol-gel-derived materials and the industrial uses of these materials are also of great interest. JSST publishes original, not previously published, research and technological manuscripts in the form of extended reports. Occasionally, invited papers on scientific and technologically important issues in emerging fields of sol-gel materials are published as special issues. A Sol-Gel Product News section is also available for publication of short papers on products developed via chemical technology.

Since the middle of 2007, the journal has also introduced a new venue for publication of "Fast-Track Communications." This venue is reserved for rapid publication of novel developments of unusual significance to the Sol-Gel Science and technology community which, in the judgement of the Editors, requires expedited handling beyond our usual efforts to publish all articles in a timely manner.

The major topics of the journal include: Chemistry, physics, materials science and technology, sol-gel synthesis, processing techniques, etc Characterization of gels, aerogels, sol-gel derived glasses, ceramics, hybrids and composites Properties and performances of sol-gel materials in the fields of optics, magnetism, mechanics, chemistry, environmental science, biomedicine and biotechnology, etc Industrial applications.

Sol-Gel Science presents the physical and chemical principles of the sol-gel process at a level suitable for graduate students and practitioners in the field. This book defines sol-gel rather broadly as the preparation of ceramic materials by preparation of a sol, gelation of the sol, and removal of the solvent. The sol may be produced from inorganic or organic precursors (e.g., nitrates or alkoxides) and may consist of dense oxide particles of polymeric clusters. Brinker expands the definition of ceramics to include organically modified materials, often called ORMOSILs or CERAMERs. The emphasis of the author' treatment is on the science, rather than the technology, of sol-gel processing. Although a chapter on applications is included, more detailed discussion is available in proceedings of conferences and in the recent collection of articles, Sol-Gel Technology for thin films, Fibers, Preforms, Electronics, and Specialty Shapes