Advances in DNA Sequence Specific Agents. Volume 4. Series. Edited by Graham B. Jones (Northeastern University). Volume Edited by Brant J. Chapman (Montclair State University). Elsevier: Amsterdam. 2002. x + 152 pp. $95.00. ISBN 0-444-51096-06. This slim book is the fourth in a series that began in 1992. The title lays claim to an immense fieldseasily a third of cell biology depends on recognition of specific sequences in DNAsand the molecules that perform the specific readouts remain under intense biochemical and biophysical study. Most reviews in this series, however, have focused on a rather different field: the damaging of DNA specifically or globally to achieve a therapeutic end. This is certainly a worthy topic, but one much narrower than the title would imply. This volume contains six reviews, five of which discuss agents that damage DNA. Compounds that form adducts and cross-links at tracts of adenine residues and at sites of helix distortion are discussed in several contributions. The effects and side-effects of nitrogen mustardlike agents on DNA are reviewed. Two methodological topics are also covered: the use of peptides to target damage to specific loci on chromosomes and the use of footprinting with DNAse I to measure equilibria between DNA sites and binding proteins. The reviews are capably done overall, although dated. One review cites nothing later than 1999, three include references up to 2000, and only two include material published in 2001. Most do not provide the titles of cited works, limiting their value as guides to the primary literature, in my opinion. The volume falls short on other counts. It has no index, making it difficult to locate threads common to several reviews or to return to a given topic. Individual articles lack summaries or introductory outlines. The editor’s prefatory statement is perfunctory, provides no rationale for this collection of topics, and makes no effort to point out the connections among individual reviews. Finally, it is impossible not to notice that the volumes in the series have appeared at erratic intervals and in decreasing sizes, trends that augur poorly for its future. Overall, this volume costs too much and delivers too little. Researchers will want coverage of more recent work. Students and readers seeking overviews can readily find more recent reviews on these topics (often by the same authors) using PubMed. Also, libraries may think twice about committing to a series with an uneven past and perhaps an uncertain future.
High Performance Non-Oxide Ceramics I. Edited by Martin Jansen (Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Festkorperforschung, Stuttgart). Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Heidelberg, New York. 2002. xvi + 198 pp. $149.00. ISBN 3-540-43131-4. This first volume of the series includes three reviews of recent advances in the area of nonoxide ceramics, specifically: (i) Phase Equilibria in the Si-B-C-N System; (ii) Silicon Carbide-A Survey of Synthetic Approaches, Properties and Applications, and (iii) Amorphous Multinary Ceramics in the Si-B-N-C System. The second volume will include two complementary chapters: (i) Boron Nitrides-Properties, Synthesis and Applications, and (ii) Silicon Nitride Ceramics. The first review in the present volume provides thermodynamic data and binary, ternary, and quaternary phase diagrams in systems consisting of Si, C, N, and B. The data are well referenced by the contributing authors. In the second review, the authors focus primarily on different methods of synthesizing silicon carbide. The main emphasis is on the formation of SiC using polysilanes and polycarbosilanes. Other synthetic techniques and high-temperature applications of SiC are described, albeit too briefly. The concluding review in the volume is focused on amorphous multicomponent ceramics in the SiB-N-C system. The authors give extensive data on different organic precursors leading to the formation of Si-B-C-N ceramics. The review also includes some information on processing as well as on the chemical/physical properties of Si-B-N-C ceramics. This book has definite value as an important source for researchers working in the area of nonoxide ceramics. Both volumes of the series should prove to be very comprehensive sources of information and references for those interested in systems consisting of silicon, nitrogen, carbon, and boron. Jan A. Puszynski, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology JA025306F 10.1021/ja025306f
Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry. Volume 9. Bioelectrochemistry. Edited by George S. Wilson (University of Kansas). Series Edited by Allen J. Bard (University of Texas) and Martin Stratmann (Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Eisenforschung). Wiley-VCH: Weinheim. 2002. x + 662 pp. $320.00. ISBN 3-527-30401-0.
John J. Scocca, The Johns Hopkins UniVersity JA0253282 10.1021/ja0253282 Unsigned book reviews are by the Book Review Editor.
This ninth volume of the 11-volume encyclopedia provides an up-to-date review of the fast-growing field of bioelectrochemistry. There are 17 chapters, an introductory overview section, and a carefully prepared subject index. Written by recognized experts in the field, these chapters address a variety
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of important topics including the electrochemistry of enzymes, proteins, and nucleic acids; single cell electrochemistry; immunoassays; and biological applications of potentiometry and scanning electrochemical microscopy. In such a volume, some variability in coverage and quality from chapter to chapter is inevitable. Some topics are covered very thoroughly (e.g., a chapter on the electrochemistry of pyridine nucleotides is about 80 pages long and contains more than 450 references), whereas others are presented at a more basic level. Generally, most of the chapters are well written. Each of them starts with a summary of fundamentals, then progresses to a discussion of essential new developments and selected applications. The editors were successful in covering the broad field of modern bioelectrochemistry without major omissions (with the exception, perhaps, of biofuel cells and electron transfer studies in DNA, which were only briefly mentioned) and with minimal overlap between the chapters. For the most part, symbols and nomenclature are used consistently. There are some 2900 references. Most chapters contain references up to the year 2000 or 2001, with some references to publications from 2002. To avoid repetitions, the authors frequently refer to the appropriate sections in other parts of this book. There is also extensive crossreferencing between different volumes of the Encyclopedia. In conclusion, this volume is certain to provide excellent reviews and reference sources for all electrochemists working with biological systems. It should also be useful for nonelectrochemists and graduate students interested in the application of electrochemical methods to solving biomedical problems. Michael V. Mirkin, Queens College - CUNY JA025329U 10.1021/ja025329u
Annual Reports on NMR Spectroscopy, Volume 45. Edited by G. A. Webb (Royal Society of Chemistry, London). Academic Press: San Diego, London. 2002. x + 256 pp. $134.95. ISBN 0-12-505445-9. The discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance more than five decades ago foreshadowed a multitude of applications applicable to both liquid and solid states. This series provides a venue for presentation of the more arcane aspects of NMR spectroscopy, and Volume 45 continues this tradition. The chapters contained in the present volume include (1) Temperature Measurements using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance; (2) Structural Studies of Amino Acids, Polypeptides, and Proteins in the Solid State by 1H CRAMPS NMR; (3) Stray Field (STRAFI) and Single Point (SPE) Magnetic Resonance Imaging; and (4) NMR Study of Internal Hydrogen Bonds in Metalloproteins. Accurate determination of the temperature of an NMR sample is often fraught with difficulty and uncertainty. In Chapter 1, A. G. Webb addresses these concerns by presenting the physical basis of the relevant temperature-dependent NMR parameter(s) for experiments performed in the liquid state, the solid state, and in vivo by techniques using magnetic resonance imaging. This section contains an exhaustive discussion of the temperature-dependent behavior, and its underlying physical basis, for a variety of different nuclei, both commonly and less frequently
used. Pertinent values of temperature-dependent NMR parameters for both mobile as well as immobile sample environments are included. Of particular interest to workers in the biomedical arena is a detailed presentation of how in vivo temperatures are measured. Such measurements are of critical importance in the design of RF coils for spectroscopy and imaging, as well as in biomedical applications involving various forms of tissue heating. The chapter concludes with a brief presentation of nonmedical applications involving the mapping of temperature. Much of the useful information contained in this chapter is not in tabular form, nor are recommendations provided for measuring temperature for specific applications. Roughly 30% of the references are more recent than 1995. For the reader interested in developing a protocol for measuring temperature for a particular type of sample, this chapter will prove to be indispensable. The next chapter by Shoji, Kimura, and Sugisawa is a discussion of the structure and conformation of poly-R-amino acids. These model compounds heralded the initiation of physical studies of protein models at the dawn of such investigations decades ago. It is not clear to this reviewer why such ancient material should be reviewed, given the spectacular advances in recent years in the methodologies of both liquid and solid-state NMR for the elucidation of 3D structure and conformations of proteins and peptides. For example, studies of the conformation of peptides and nucleic acids by more recently developed solid-state NMR techniques, such as REDOR and dipolar recoupling experiments, provide an abundance of detailed quantitative conformational information; however, these relatively new applications of solid-state NMR are not even mentioned. In keeping with the discussion focused on polypeptide models, approximately 80% of the citations are prior to 1995. A great deal of the recent literature devoted to magnetic resonance imaging is directed to biomedical applications, often ignoring important nonmedical uses. The useful and informative third chapter by Chudek and Hunter has nicely filled this void. As pointed out by the authors, one of the main drawbacks to ready and wide acceptance of imaging is the difficulty of recording magnetic resonance signals elaborated by samples containing nuclei of short transverse relaxation times. The imaging methodologies of STRAFI and SPI triumph over this limitation. The chapter begins with a concise and lucid synopsis of the pertinent theory, which is followed by a literature review of successful nonbiomedical applications. Applications to synthetic polymers, fluid permeation into and solvent diffusion within homogeneous materials, biological samples, such as mineralized tissues, food samples, and biologically elaborated polymers, and soil science are described. The use of magnetically active nuclei other than the proton is also illustrated. In keeping with the contemporary nature of the chapter, more than two-thirds of the references have appeared since 1995. The final chapter by Yamamoto is directed to NMR proton resonance signals arising from the histidyl imidazole ring NH hydrogens that are involved in the internal hydrogen bonds of metalloproteins and the utility of such measurements as spectroscopic probes in protein folding and conformation studies. The review begins with a detailed discussion of the properties and the physical and chemical behavior of hydrogen bonds, followed by a presentation of the NMR characteristics of the J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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hydrogen bond. A comprehensive and detailed discussion of the conformation and protein folding behavior of myoglobin, cytochrome c, and superoxide dismutase follows. Approximately 60% of the references are earlier than 1995. This reviewer’s primary reservation (in addition to a large percentage of outof-date references) is that much of this material has already been published in review form and it is likely to appeal to only a very narrow segment of the NMR community. In summary, this monograph is recommended to those readers who desire detailed and precise information about NMR issues not generally found elsewhere in the literature. Thomas Schleich, UniVersity of California, Santa Cruz JA025319T 10.1021/ja025319t
Reviews in Computational Chemistry. Volume 18. Edited by Kenny B. Lipkowitz and Donald B. Boyd (Indiana University-Purdue University). Wiley-VCH: Hoboken. 2002. xxxii + 350 pp. $150.00. ISBN 0-471-21576-7. Computational chemistry has evolved in many directions and very rapidly since 1990. Its impact in industry has increased significantly, judging by the number of jobs currently advertised in industrial computational chemistry. The editors of ReViews in Computational Chemistry, through their choice of topics, have traditionally done a very good job in tracking these developments. In general, the chapters are part tutorial and part review and are good entry points for nonspecialists. They are most useful to scientists whose work combines theory, software development, and molecular modeling. Core topics, such as electronic structure methods, are covered, of course. What is more important in my view, however, is the coverage of topics not traditionally associated with “theoretical chemistry”, such as data management and computer-assisted molecular design. This is especially true in Volume 18. It contains chapters on (1) data clustering methods, (2) scoring functions for drug discovery, (3) potentials for simulations that incorporate polarizability, (4) charge-transfer reactions, and (5) fitting of properties to models with quantum mechanical descriptors. There is also a short history of computational chemistry in Germany (Chapter 6) and an appendix about the job market. Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5 cover topics that complement each other nicely, and they are written in a similar style. I find them very good introductions for beginners. Some theory is covered, basic approximations and methods as well as differences among various algorithms in use are explained, and typical applications are described. There are many references to recent publications, roughly 700 in the four chapters combined. Taken together, these chapters give an idea of how techniques in computational chemistry are used in industry to help solve practical problems, and they offer a sense of how these techniques are evolving. Chapter 4, on charge-transfer reactions, does not fit in as well with the rest because of its topic and because it provides a more advanced treatment with emphasis on the latest theoretical developments. Still, considering that this is a collection of reviews and not a textbook, there is a rather strong cohesion between chapters. 6836 J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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In Chapter 6, Peyerimhoff departs from the style of the earlier chapters by taking a historical and insightful perspective on the development of computational chemistry in Germany. Quantum chemistry, and science, in general, went from a very high to a very low point between 1930 and 1945 in Germany and then recuperated in a truly amazing way. Peyerimhoff suggests that this revival had a lot to do with a “bottom-up” approach to research funding and the recognition by some senior scientists of the importance of making a critical type of equipment (digital computers) available to researchers. The appendix, on the other hand, offers an analysis of the job market in computational chemistry in the U.S. since 1983 and contains data on number of jobs, employers, skills in demand, salaries, etc. Both are interesting reading in these times of changing policies regarding science funding. On the whole, I recommend this book. Anyone interested in computational chemistry should browse through it and may well end up reading most of it. Rene´ Fournier, York UniVersity JA025334Y 10.1021/ja025334y
NMR Spectroscopy of Polymers in Solution and in the Solid State. Edited by H. N. Cheng (Hercules Incorporated Research Center) and Alan D. English (DuPont Central Research and Development). American Chemical Society: Washington, DC (Distributed by Oxford University Press). 2003. xiv + 448 pp. $150.00. ISBN 0-8412-3808-1. This book contains the papers presented at the symposium on titled subject held during the 221st ACS National Meeting in San Diego, CA in April of 2001. Following the introductory chapter are 30 chapters organized under the following headings: Solid-State NMR of Polymers; Solution NMR of Synthetic Polymers: Multidimensional NMR Techniques; Solution NMR of Synthetic Polymers: Polymer Solution Studies; Solution NMR of Biopolymers; Combined NMR and Separation Techniques; and Dynamics of Polymers in Solution. An author and a subject index complete the book. JA0335115 10.1021/ja0335115
Chemical Solution Deposition of Semiconductor Films. By Gary Hodes (Weizmann Institute). Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York and Basel. 2003. xii + 376 pp. $150.00. ISBN 0-8247-0851-2. Hodes has written a pedagogical text to introduce scientists and engineers to the field of chemical solution deposition of semiconductors. Within this context, a critical review of the literature through 2001 is also provided and should be useful to active researchers in the field. There are already a half dozen reviews in the literature on the solution deposition of semiconductors, and the author refers the reader to them at various points
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in the text where more detailed descriptions within the reviews would be a diversion. The scope of this book, however, is broader than each of these reviews and includes an overview of II-VI semiconductors, PbS and PbSe, other sulfides and selenides, oxides, and ternary compounds. He also describes applications of these thin films in solar cells and photoelectrochemical cells. The author has divided the text into three broad sections: (1) Chapters 1-3 contain discussions of the mechanisms of chemical solution deposition of semiconductors and are accompanied by illustrations from the literature; (2) Chapters 4-8 offer an expanded and more formal review of the literature as well as critical commentary in which the author provides his own interpretation and judgment, illuminating numerous opportunities for further research; and (3) Chapters 9-10 provide summaries of the applications of deposited films in the area of solar cells and photoelectrochemistry. The author explicitly states that the intended audience for the book includes scientists and engineers without an extensive background in chemistry. The structure and content of the first section of the book are well designed to serve that role. With a view toward modern approaches to learning through repetition and review, he revisits each subject several times, getting more detailed each time. These passes consist of a presentation of the mechanism of chemical solution deposition of semiconductors followed by a review of the literature to illustrate the new aspects of the topic. This approach ensures that the nonchemist can acquire a ready familiarity with the material without danger of being out of his or her depth. For a chemist, this is bedtime reading-nothing too difficult-with the value being the selection of topics that the author believes are essential to an understanding of the field. More importantly, it familiarizes the reader with the author’s vocabulary for his subsequent analysis of the literature in the field. At times, the text is less a treatise than a detailed person-to-person chalkboard discussion by the author. This tone is very useful, because the field of chemical solution deposition is more of an art than a science in many areas, and the reader wishing to enter it must realize that progress requires a good deal of experimental exploration and adjustment. The reader should come away informed of the technical accomplishments within the field and of the experiential nature of the research efforts within it. In the process of educating the novice in the first section of the book, however, the author may have sacrificed some rigor in the discussion. Descriptions of the role of energy in the formation of films or particle association often proceed without identifying whether internal energy, enthalpy, or free energy is the object of discussion. Some key topics, such as nucleation and growth, are too cursory in their depth, given their importance to the subject. A discussion of the role of stirring and diffusion is too brief, and a critical examination of these subjects is needed. It may be that the problems of diffusion dead layers near surfaces and two-dimensional and three-dimensional diffusion problems of reagents at planes and colloids are trivial, given that the reagent deposition concentrations are balanced just away from equilibrium. However, the reader is left uninformed. Too frequently-and this is not necessarily the fault of the author-physical models fail to describe the topic in an adequate fashion, and the author must resort to a summary of experimental observations to convey the behavior of the
deposition process. This results in a disjointed sequence of models and experimental detail to explain the principles. In the review and applications sections, one wishes for more extensive discussions of annealing upon the deposited layers. In the photovoltaic applications, the author does not delve into the relation between the details of the deposited film structure and the current-voltage characteristics of the solar cell. These criticisms are not structural defects in the argument of the book, but are rather a series of missed opportunities for the author that could be addressed easily in a subsequent update. In short, this book offers an easy and quick introduction to those new to the field. For scientists involved in solar cell work pertinent to the applications discussed in the last chapters, this text provides a unified viewpoint on the status of this field. It should also be of value to the research and development staff in industry who must often quickly come up to speed in a technical area to develop and market technologies. Mark T. Spitler, ChemMotif, Inc. JA0253336 10.1021/ja0253336
Medicinal Chemistry: Principles and Practice. Second Edition. Edited by Frank D. King (GlaxoSmithKline, UK). Royal Society of Chemistry: Cambridge. 2002. xxvii + 448 pp. $79.95. ISBN 0-85404-631-3 (Softcover). This book retains the organization of the 1994 edition by focusing on basic principles, but it updates the coverage to express these principles in light of evolving technologies. Thus, new chapters on combinatorial chemistry and precandidate selection toxicology have been added, the chapter on molecular biology has been expanded, and the remaining chapters have been updated and include illustrating examples of recent work by the authors. Three new case histories are presented to illustrate the successful application of the principles of medicinal chemistry to advance drug candidates. The book is loosely organized with individual chapters from a variety of contributing authors, almost all of whom are from the UK, the vast majority being from GlaxoSmithKline, as is the editor. It also includes an extensive table of abbreviations and a list of general reference texts and journals. An introductory chapter on drug-receptor interactions is followed by chapters devoted specifically to ion channels, intracellular targets, and enzyme inhibitors. Other chapters covering biological evaluation, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, molecular biology, and chemical development provide the reader with an overview of the disciplines that integrate with medicinal chemistry in the processes of drug discovery, optimization, and development. Chapters devoted to subjects more directly related to the practice of medicinal chemistry include strategies and tactics in drug discovery, physicochemical properties, quantitative structureactivity relationships, computational chemistry, and combinatorial chemistry. A chapter on patent medicine provides an overview of issues of intellectual property related to drug discovery. Four concluding chapters provide case studies in medicinal chemistry as applied to the development of 5-HT2c receptor antagonists, HIV protease inhibitors, NK1 receptor antagonists, and COX-2 inhibitors. J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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Throughout all of the chapters, the presentation is clear, and the chemical structures and illustrations are of uniform, good quality. The integration of the chapters is somewhat uneven, however. Although the reader is referred to subjects covered in other chapters in some cases, in other cases, topics are repeated in different chapters. Overall, relatively few references are provided-some chapters have only a handful with many over 10 years old. The references do not include a full list of authors or article titles. The subject index is adequate, and useful appendixes are provided. Medicinal chemistry is just one discipline in the interdisciplinary endeavor involving drug discovery and development. This book provides an excellent survey of the other chemical and biological disciplines within the field and presents medicinal chemists as fully integrated members of a discovery team. However, there is comparatively little actual medicinal chemistry presented, relative to other books on the subject. With the exception of the case studies and a few examples in the remainder of the book, there are few illustrations of the rationale and process by which leads are optimized into potential drug candidates. Certain topics, such as stereochemical issues, are not addressed at all. Despite these shortcomings, Medicinal Chemistry: Principles and Practice is an excellent introduction to the field and to the role of medicinal chemistry in drug discovery. Overall, this book will prove to be a valuable addition to institutional libraries and to the personal libraries of graduate students and new practitioners of medicinal chemistry, particularly those in an industrial setting. This book is recommended primarily for the context in which medicinal chemistry is placed; that is, it provides an up-to-date picture of the integration of medicinal chemistry into the drug discovery process, which also makes it suitable for management personnel and more experienced scientists. Sean Michael Kerwin, The UniVersity of Texas at Austin JA025346J 10.1021/ja025346j
Atomic and Molecular Photoabsorption: Absolute Total Cross Sections. By Joseph Berkowitz (Argonne National Laboratory). Academic Press: San Diego, London. 2002. viii + 350 pp. $99.95. ISBN 0-12-091841-2. Studies of the interactions between radiation and matter have been of continuing interest since the very beginnings of modern science and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. In this monograph, Berkowitz provides a timely, up-to-date critical analysis and compilation of quantitative photoabsorption data for stable gases (He, Ne, Ar), selected light atomic radicals (H, Li, N, O, Na, Cl), and diatomic and polyatomic molecules of broad interest. The spectral range of absorption in these cases extends from the ultraviolet or vacuum ultraviolet regions of the first discrete excitations into the X-ray region, where the absorption edges and continuum tails that are the result of ionization of the innermost atomic shells appear. This broad range of data has been made accessible to study by continuing advances in radiation sources, particularly at the dedicated 6838 J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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synchrotron facilities that now provide useful photon flux from the long-wavelength infrared to the hard X-ray region. The volume will be of interest to a wide scientific audience, comprising workers who employ radiation in the ultraviolet and beyond for a variety of purposes. These include atomic, molecular, and flame spectroscopists, mass spectrometrists, radiation chemists and physicists, computationally oriented theorists who are challenged to account for the reported data, and workers in the rapidly developing fields of vacuum ultraviolet/soft X-ray spectromicroscopy employed in the chemical analysis of polymers and biological and environmental systems, to mention some representative examples. This monograph is very much an expanded and updated version of Chapter V of Berkowitz’s well-known earlier work, Photoabsorption, Photoionization, and Photoelectron Spectroscopy (Academic Press, 1979), which helped to educate a generation or two of researchers and is still an important reference source. The present volume deals with almost an order of magnitude more material than was cited in Chapter V of the earlier work, in particular, including more accurate data that have significantly reduced uncertainties in the cross sections. Emphasis is placed on the use of sum rules to constrain and discriminate among different data sets and to make critical choices in recommended values. The sum rules refer to “spectral moments” involving integrals over the cross sections σ() of powers of transition energies (k; k ) -2, -1, 0, 1, 2). These quantities can also be independently evaluated theoretically as sum rules in terms of ground-state wave functions (k ) -1, 0, 1, 2), or can be related to static polarizabilities (k ) -2) obtained from optical refractivity or related measurements. The latter sum (k ) -2) is most sensitive to the lower end of the spectrum, whereas the other sums (k ) -1, 0, 1, 2) grow increasingly sensitive with increasing k to the higher end. In addition to citations to original work, figures of cross sections versus photon energy (eV), tables of the contributions to the sum rules from various (discrete and continuum) spectral intervals, and convenient analytical fits to the higher-energy spectral data are all provided. Accordingly, a significant amount of quantitative information is presented in one place and, most importantly, is critically discussed in separate sections describing the details of the analyses for each atom or molecule. Atomic species treated in Chapter 2 include the aforementioned radicals and inert gases. The diatomic data of Chapter 4 include HCl as well as the earlier list (H2, N2, O2, CO, NO), and in Chapters 5 and 6 C60 and SiH4 have been added to the previous list of polyatomics (NH3, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH3OH, SF6), all now significantly updated and the discussions expanded. A helpful description of the quantum yield of molecular photoionization is provided in Chapter 3 to bridge the atomic and molecular chapters. In addition to providing more accurate cross-sectional information, the inclusion of radical species, specifically transient O, N, and Cl, and the more detailed treatment of diatomic molecules, is particularly welcome. Additional examples of new material and more extensive treatments of the species selected abound. Of course, in a work of this scope, there are bound to be omissions and possible alternative perspectives on the material reported. For example, although the issue of line saturation in photoabsorption is mentioned in the Introduction, no detailed comparisons of photon and electron energy loss
BOOK REVIEWS
spectra are provided in the text. Histogram representations of discrete oscillator strengths are reported without pedagogical comment, and one might argue with the widths and placements of the particular histograms employed. In the regions of higher photon energy, where nondipole and other effects can contribute, analytical dipole-based forms obtained from theoretical estimates of cross sections are employed to make the dipole analysis of sum rules consistent. Some mention here of coherent and incoherent scattering, electron positron pair-production, and nuclear photo effect might place the absorption process in its broader context. These are minor quibbles, however, largely requesting more information in a work already overflowing with clearly presented, useful, quantitative information from which a broad community of workers will benefit. Peter W. Langhoff, UniVersity of California, San Diego JA025321K 10.1021/ja025321k
Characterization of Materials, Two Volume Set. Edited by Elton Kaufmann (Argonne National Laboratory). J. Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken. 2003. 1392 pp. $400.00. ISBN 0-471-26882-8. This reference book covers a variety of techniques for characterizing materials. The coverage includes general vacuum techniques, X-ray powder diffraction, high strain rate testing, deep-level transient spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, low energy electron diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, magnetometry, transmission electron microscopy, and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The book is organized by technique, and each article covers a specific method, providing a description of the technique, its limitations, how it relates to other techniques, as well as examples of its applications. An online edition is also available. JA033512X 10.1021/ja033512x
Zeolites for Cleaner Technologies. Edited by Michel Guisnet (Universite´ de Poitiers) and Jean-Pierre Gilson (Universite´ de Caen). Catalytic Science Series, Volume 3. Series Edited by Graham J. Hutchings (Cardiff University). Imperial College Press: London. 2002. x + 378 pp. $78.00. ISBN 1-86094-329-2. This book presents the 15 lectures given at the “Zeolites for Cleaner Technologies” meeting, which was held as a preConference School in Poitiers prior to the 13th International Zeolite Conference in Montpellier, France, in July of 2001. An introductory chapter provides an overview on the basics of zeolite chemistry to the newcomer, whereas the remaining chapters focus on zeolite-based technologies in the major areas of oil refining, petrochemicals, and fine chemicals. A final chapter on pollution abatement using zeolites completes the book. There is a subject index. JA033503O 10.1021/ja033503o
Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry. Volume 1. Thermodynamics and Electrified Interfaces. Edited by Eliezer Gileadi and Michael Urbakh (Tel Aviv University, Israel). Series Edited by Allen J. Bard and Martin Stratmann. Wiley-VCH: Weinheim. 2002. x + 610 pp. $365.00. ISBN 3-527-30393-6. Bard and Stratmann’s new 11-volume series is aimed at “providing an up-to-date electrochemical source for engineers and scientists, as well as for students needing a starting point in their search for reliable information.” The first volume reviews four areas of electrochemistry: electrode potentials, electrochemical double layers, specific adsorption, and the electrochemical deposition of metals and compound semiconductors. Although the topics presented in this volume are classical, they are relevant to a variety of applications in nanoscience, materials, and biotechnology, such as the layerby-layer growth of polyelectrolyte films, the electric fieldinduced detection of base mismatches in DNA chips, and the electrochemical preparation of metal and semiconductor nanostructures possessing unique optoelectronic or magnetic properties. Techniques using scanning probe microscopy are also providing new insights into the interfacial forces and surface processes occurring at electrified metal/solution interfaces. The first chapter provides an explanation of the origin of electrode potentials as well as a description of the fundamental principles of electrochemical cells and reactions. Concepts are developed in a rather complicated and awkward manner in this introductory section. The novice would be better off consulting other electrochemistry textbooks. The second chapter deals with the structure of electrical double layers at solid/liquid and liquid/liquid interfaces. The concepts of differential capacitance, potential of zero charge, electrocapillarity, and specific ion adsorption are described. Electrochemical double-layer parameters for some metal electrodes in various electrolytes are tabulated. Charge transport in liquid-state and solid-state electrochemical cells is also compared in this section. In what the reviewer considers as the most interesting article of this chapter, Hans-Ju¨rgen Butt outlines the recent progress made on the measurement of electrostatic double layer forces by atomic force microscopy (AFM). This chapter concludes with an article on the properties of polyelectrolytes in solution and adsorbed onto solid surfaces. Chapter 3 begins with a description of specific ion adsorption and a brief summary of the in-situ and ex-situ techniques used to investigate adsorption phenomena at electrode surfaces. Chapter 4 and the remainder of Chapter 3 offer discussions of the state-of-the art in the electrodeposition and reactivity of twodimensional inorganic and organic adlayers at electrode surfaces. High-resolution images of adlayer growth and potential-induced structural phase transitions using the scanning tunneling microscope accompany the text. A brief but timely description of the application of electrodeposition of compound semiconductors to nanodevice construction is also included. The strength of this volume is that it contains some valuable up-to-date articles on the analysis of electric double layers by AFM and the electrochemical deposition of materials. It displays the usual weakness of a multiauthor volume: repetition among J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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chapters and differences in styles of writing and presentation. Furthermore, this volume could have benefited from more careful editing. The quality of the English used in some articles is poor, and figures are presented but not discussed in the text. Overall, this book does an adequate job covering the thermodynamics and structural aspects of electrical double layers and
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molecular adsorption at electrode surfaces. It is definitely worth consulting as a reference source. Antonella Badia, UniVersite´ de Montre´ al JA025330T 10.1021/ja025330t
