N4 CO. This does not mean, however, that all such assignments are suspect. There are certainly examples, including Pt(ll1) and various Cu surfaces, where CO sites deduced in this way have been confirmed by direct structural methods. Nevertheless, frequency boundaries between bridgeand hollow-sites in particular, but also between bridge- and top-sites, are obviously less well-defined than had been thought and deductions from vibrational data alone must now be regarded as no more than tentative. During the round table, the quality ofthe presentations and the stimulating discussions were emphasized. The organisation of a fourth workshop was decided, to be held in France during 1996. D. DUPREZ Solid Oxide Fuel Ceils The 3rd France-Maghreb Catalysis Workshop was held in Rabat from 9th to 12th May 1994 under the auspices of the Algerian, French (Catalysis Division), Moroccan and Tunisian Chemical Societies. The opening session was chaired by M. Knidiri, Morrocan Minister of Education. The workshop, on the central theme of catalysis applied to environmental protection, drew 126 participants, of whom 20 were French and 25 were PhD students from the Maghreb studying in French laboratories. Four lectures were given by French specialists, three on characterisation techniques (UV-Visible-PIR, thermal methods and chemisorption), thus completing the lectures on characterisation methods given at the two previous workshops, and one on polyfunctional catalysis for treating car exhausts. About 100 communications were presented, either orally (36) or as posters. The workshop ended with a visit to the Maroc-Phosphore factory at El Jadida. While all hydrogen-compatible fuel cells with acidic, alkaline or polymer electrolytes need special reformers to work on natural gas, Solid Oxide Fuel Ceils (“SOFC”) can convert gaseous hydrocarbons directly or with internal reforming into electricity with high efficiency wlth low emissions and without moving pans. The electrolyte is a thin ceramic membrane composed of yttria-stabiiised zirconia. When heated to around %Kt%, ionised oxygen from ordinary air passes from the cathode through the ceramic electrolyte to the anode where fuel gases are oxidised. Hydrocarbons are reformed to hydrogen and carbon monoxide within the hot system envelope. Natural or coal gas, liquid gas or vaporised liquid fuels can thus be converted to direct current electric power. Also, useful excess heat is available at high temperature levels. Thus, solid oxide fuel cells are likely to play a dominant role in co-generation in the near future. in hydrogen-compatible fuel cell concepts, carbon poisons the electrolyte. Carbon oxides must be carefully removed from the feed gas to avoid power loss and system failure. However, the SOFC offers a perfect compatibility with hydrocarbon fuels. As a consequence, the market potential of the SOFC is impressive for today’s energy environment. Because of these advantages, SOFC technology is applied catalysis A: General Volume 116 No. l-2 - CSMCKEE Frsflco-Maghreb Catalysis Workshop _ 1 September 1964 N5 under rapid development in Europe, the US, Japan and Australia. In recent years, the technology has matured rapidly. The first products will appear on the market soon. SOFC technology is a candidate for applications such as: dispersed power generation and co-generation with natural gas; on-board power generation for trucks, buses, boats, trains or planes with diesel fuel; air-cooled power plants with natural or coal gas; electric power sources for hybrid road vehicles with methanol, gasoline or diesel fuel; and space and military applications with hydrogen and oxygen. Projected costs of SOFC systems compare favourably with those of conventional conversion technologies. Consequently, the SOFC is expecting a bright future. Conservative market assessments forecast world-wide sales exceeding one billion US dollars per year soon after the year 2ooo. Because of these promising aspects the European Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Forum (forum = conference + exhibition + commercial interaction) has been initiated as a biennial event, The first one will be held at Lucerne in Switzerland from 3rd to 7th October, 1974. The aim of the European SOFC Forum is to relate the attractive SOFC technology to the market. Further information may be obtained from the address given in the Calendar. Mlcroscopy and Catalysis A joint one-day meeting of the Royal Microscopical Society and the Surface Reactivity and Catalysis Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry will be held on Thurs- applied catalysis A: General day 27th October at the Royal Institqtion, 21 Albermarle Street, London. The subject of the meeting will be Microscopy and Catalysis. A knowledge of the physical form and local chemical composition of an efficient heterogeneous catalyst is needed at all stages of its operation: before, during and after reaction. Furthermore, this information is becoming necessary at increasingly high spatial resolutions and for ever more complex systems. The different branches of microscopy therefore have an important contribution to make to catalysis research, and this field poses particular challenges to the microscopist because of the dependence of the critical chemical processes on localised surface behaviour. The aim of this one-day meeting is to bring together individuals and groups whose work relates to microscopy and catalysis. The meeting will highlight the contributions which electron and scanned probe microscopies are making to research in heterogeneous catalysis. There will be contributions from those who are specialists in either chemistry or materials science but whose interests bridge both areas. The organisers of the meeting, which will include an invited presentation from Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas and contributions from meeting registrants, are Prof. Richard Joyner (Leverhulme Centre for Innovative Catalysis, University of Liverpool, UK) and Dr. Erica Bithell (Department of Materials, University of Oxford. For further information, contact the Administrator, the Royal Microscopical Society, at the address given in the Calendar of Forthcoming Events. Volume 116 No. l-2 - 1 September 1994