The growth of the chemical industry greatly depends on the application of chemical kinetics, catalysts and catalytic processes. Chemical kinetics, the branch of physical chemistry that is concerned with understanding the rates of chemical reactions. One reason for the importance of kinetics is that it provides evidence for the mechanisms of chemical processes. Besides being of intrinsic scientific interest, knowledge of reaction mechanisms is of practical use in deciding the most effective way of a reaction to occur. Many commercial processes can take place by alternative reaction paths, and knowledge of the mechanisms makes it possible to choose reaction conditions that favour one path over others. The vast amount of work done in chemical kinetics has led to the conclusion that some chemical reactions known as elementary reactions go in a single step; other reactions which are said to be stepwise, composite, or complex go in more than one step. Measurements of the rates of chemical reactions over a range of conditions can show whether a reaction proceeds by one or more steps. If a reaction is stepwise, kinetic measurements provide evidence for the mechanism of the individual elementary steps. Information about reaction mechanisms is also provided by certain nonkinetic studies, but little can be known about a mechanism until its kinetics has been investigated. Chemical Kinetics and Reaction Dynamics brings together the major facts and theories relating to the rates with which chemical reactions occur from both the macroscopic and microscopic point of view.

This special issue on Chemical Kinetics and Reaction Dynamics is therefore an invaluable resource for all academics, industrial researchers and students interested in kinetics, molecular reaction dynamics, and the mechanisms of chemical reactions.