In the preface to the book the author states “… the aim is to provide a unified picture of the chemistry of functional silica gels. Hence, in place of a complete coverage of what has been done with these immensely versatile materials, an attempt is made to provide readers with an understanding of the principles behind the applications”. He then goes on to say “This book should be useful to researchers and undergraduate students who carry out research in the field, and to managers and management consultants in the chemical industry …”