1. Cerium and cerium oxide: A brief introduction 2. Synthesis and properties of cerium oxide-based materials 3. Catalytic applications of cerium dioxide 4. Photocatalytic and photothermocatalytic applications of cerium oxide-based materials 5. Mass diffusion phenomena in cerium oxide 6. Ceria-based coatings and pigments 7. Cerium oxide nanoparticles for chemical and biological sensors: Properties, sensing designs, and applications 8. Biological, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications of cerium oxide 9. Economical aspects, toxicity, and environmental fate of cerium oxide
Salvatore Scirè was born in 1960 at Catania (Italy) and obtained his degree in Chemistry with Laude in 1984 at the University of Catania and then the PhD in Industrial Chemistry in 1989. Now he is Associate Professor of Industrial Chemistry at the Department of Chemical Sciences of Catania University. His research activity is mainly focused on heterogeneous catalysis with special interest devoted to the study of oxide-supported mono and bimetallic catalysts and more recently to the application of photocatalysis to the environment protection and the energy production. He is referee for leading journals devoted to catalysis and material science and guest editor of some special issues in international journals. He collaborated with petrochemical and microelectronic industries and with other scientists all over the world. His research activity is documented by about 100 papers in international journals and books, 1 patent and over 110 contributions in scientific meetings.
Leonardo Palmisano was born in Termini Imerese, Italy, in 1950. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry cum laude in 1973 from the University of Palermo. He was a full professor of Chemistry in the Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, since 2000, and although he has now retired, he continues to carry out research. His scientific work mainly focuses on heterogeneous photocatalysis, such as preparation, characterization of many bulk and surface techniques, and testing of various types of bare and doped polycrystalline photocatalysts. He has collaborated with many scientists worldwide, producing joint papers in international journals (~350), many scientific and didactical books, and five patents. He is editorin- chief of the Journal of Photocatalysis and a member of the editorial boards of European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, Current Organic Chemistry, International Journal of Photoenergy, Journal of Chemistry, and Journal of Membrane Science & Technology.