Sol-gel processing is a soft-chemistry method to obtain functional materials at low temperatures. This route can be used to produce very sophisticated nanomaterials and to tailor the materials to very specific applications. Adsorption and detection of pollutants, water purification and soil remediation represent challenging fields of application that can be exploited by sol-gel materials. In this volume several contributions from invited speakers and participants at the NATO advanced research workshop on "Sol-gel approaches to materials for pollution control, water purification and soil remediation", which has been held in Kiev, Ukraine on October 2007, are reported. The book offers a wide and updated overview of the most advanced sol-gel methods for materials processing and at the same time presents several case studies concerning possible solutions for environmental issues. General articles on sol-gel from the invited speakers and focused research articles allow getting inside sol-gel applications on this very important field.

New approaches and insights into applications for pollutants detection and removal An updated overview on sol-gel materials Sol-gel processing as a flexible soft-chemistry approach for research on environmental issues

Inhalt
Design of Functionalized Polysiloxane Adsorbents and Their Environmental Applications.- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance as Investigation Tool for Pollutant/Sorbent Interactions.- Sol-Gel Approaches in the Synthesis of Membrane Materials for Nanofiltration and Pervaporation.- Sol-Gel Synthesis of Nanostructured TiO2 Films for Water Purification.- Application of Gel Systems with Various Biocatalysts Detoxifying Neurotoxic Agents for Pollution Control, Water Purification, and Self-Defense.- Design of Inorganic and Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Materials by Sol-Gel Processing From Nanostructures to Hierarchical Networks.- Mesoporous Thin Films: Properties and Applications.- Active Sol-Gel Materials.- New Insight into Mechanisms of Sol-Gel Process and New Materials and Opportunities for Bioencapsula-tion and Biodelivery.- Selected Contemporary Topics in Sol-Gel Electro-Chemistry.- Synthesis of Sol-Gel and Gel-Based Materials and Their Use for Adsorption of Organics.- Characterization of Gels and Networks Using New Calorimetric Techniques.- Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Nanomaterials with Optical Properties for Use in Medical Applications.- Method of Competing Ions for Sol-Gel Processing of Sorbents and Catalysts in Aqueous Solutions of Inorganic Salts.- About Interactions Between Sol-Gel Derived Silica, Titania and Living Organisms.- Mesoporous Silicas: Morphology Control and Template Synthesis Inside Large Pores of Silica Gel.- Hybrid Siloxane-Polyaminoamides for the Absorption of Heparin from Blood.- Sol-Gel Silica Films Doped with Chromium (III) Acetylacetonate on Aluminium Substrate.- Sorption of Hg2+ by Mesoporous Silicas with a Functional ?Si (CH2)2NHP(S)(OC2H5)2 Group in the Surface Layer.- Sol-Gel Process Preparation of Functional Silica Materials and Their Application.-Sol-Gel Derived Films in Porous Anodic Alumina.- Sol-Gel Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO2 Films for Visible Light Sensitive TiO2/CdS Heterostructures.- Obtaining of the Hybrid Slica-Polymer Sorbents for Liquid Chromatography.- Bimetallic Co-Based Catalysts Prepared by Sol-Gel for Methane Reforming by Carbon Dioxide.- Effect of Sodium Dodecylsulfate and Cetylpyridinium Chloride Act as Templates at Different pH Values on Sorption and Textural Properties of Mesoporous Silicas.- Factors Influencing the Adsorption Properties of Silicas Functionalized by Macrocyclic Ligands.- Sensors with Biorecognition Elements Entrapped into Silica Based Polymers.- Sol-Gel Template-Free and Template-Structured Silica Films Functionalisation with Methylene Blue Dye and Ag Nanoparticles.- Synthesis, Structure and Adsorption Properties of Hexagonally Ordered Mesoporous Organosilicas Functionalized with Sulfur-Containing Groups.- Sol-Gel Route to Carbon-Silica Molecular Sieving Adsorbents.- Study of Hg2+ Sorption from Water Solutions by Mesoporous Silica with Thiourea Functional Groups.- Application of Sol-Gel Method for Synthesis of a Biosensitive Polysiloxane Matrix.- EPR Studies of New Mesostructured Silica Synthesis and Hemoglobin Encapsulation.- Molecular Precursors of Mixed Oxide Materials for Sensor Applications and Molecular Imaging.- Properties of Magnetic Silica Gel for Environment Monitoring.- Sol-Gel Synthesis of Functionalized Nanocomposite Sorbtional Material with Polymer-Silica Matrix.- Photocatalytic Degradation of Chloroform Using a New Type of Photo-Reactor.- Mesoporous TiO2 and TiO2/ZnO/Ag films: Sol-Gel Synthesis, Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Properties.- Possibilities and Limits of Texture Properties Characterization.- Preparation and Characterization of Thin Nanocrystalline Tio2 Layers.- Sol-Gel Approach for Development of the Mesoporous Structures for Creation of the Sensors and Disposal of Low Molecular Weight Toxic Substances from Environmental Objects.- Photoreduction of Nitrate Ions Over Ag/TiO2 System.- Sol-Gel Template Synthesis of the Oriented Mesoporous Thin Oxide Films and Nanostructures.- Modification of Natural Alumosilicates Suspensions by Cation-Active Organic Compounds and Study of Structural-Sorption Properties of Thus Prepared Sorbents.- Optical Spectra and Morphology of Photochemically Produced Ag/Au Bimetallic Clusters.- Sol-Gel Technology of the Mesoporous Methylsilicic Acid Hydrogel: Medicine Aspects of Globular Porous Organosilicon Materials Application.- Sol-Gel Synthesis of Modified Silica Anti-Reflecting Coatings.- Molecularly Designed Sol-Gel Hybrid Catalysts.