The article contains sections titled: 1. Introduction 2. Properties 2.1. Physical Properties 2.2. Chemical Properties 3. Production of Natural Fatty Acids 3.1. Resources and Raw Materials 3.2. Fat Splitting 3.2.1. Hydrolysis – Principles 3.2.2. Hydrolysis – Industrial Procedure 3.2.3. Hydrolysis – Enzymatic Processes 3.3. Separation of Fatty Acids 3.3.1. Distillation 3.3.2. Crystallization 3.4. Modification of Fatty Acids 3.4.1. Hydrogenation 3.4.2. Double Bond Isomerization 3.4.3. Dehydration 3.4.4. Dimerization 3.4.5. Ozonolysis 3.4.6. Thermal Decomposition 3.4.7. Bio‐Oxidation of Fatty Acids 3.4.8. Enzymatic Esterification 4. Production of Synthetic Fatty Acids 4.1. Hydroformylation 4.2. Hydrocarboxylation 4.3. Other Commercial and Noncommercial Processes 5. Analysis 6. Storage and Transportation 7. Environmental Protection, Toxicology and Occupational Health 8. Uses 9. References

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Diamond is the most suitable material for many experimental methods in nanoprobe microscopy and materials testing. The extreme hardness, the high Young’s modulus, the inert nature of the surface, and the electrical conductivity obtained through doping make this material particularly attractive. We have coated silicon atomic force microscope (AFM) levers with thin (100 nm) doped diamond layers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A continuous diamond coating was obtained, resulting in tips with 100–200 nm radii. Owing to their electrical conductivity, these tips were found to be adequate for conducting AFM and scanning tunneling microscope applications, some of which are briefly discussed and reviewed in this article. We have also demonstrated CVD diamond tips, microfabricated in a controlled fashion, that have a 20 nm apex radius. These tips are particularly promising for nanomechanics and general AFM use.

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We show the simultaneous recording of normal and lateral forces arising in scanning force and friction microscopy on a potential controlled sample immersed in aqueous electrolyte. As a liquid film is present on virtually all solid surfaces under ambient conditions, it is important to control the properties of the solidfliquid interface. In order to obtain reliable information on the friction behaviour of such a surface, a set-up for potentiostatic control of the sample was established. Experiments have been carried out with a stand-alone scanning force and friction microscope (SFFM), combined with an electrochemical cell providing potential control of the sample. First results of simultaneous normal and friction force measurements, obtained on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) immersed in NaCIO,, demonstrate the promising potential of the method.