418 Organometallics, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1982 a novel rhenium formyl complex as a model for one-carbon intermediates in CO reduction. Heterogeneous catalysis was not totally neglected in this symposium. There are two papers on a subject which has received a great deal of attention of late: CO reduction by metal carbonyls in a zeolite matrix. The paper by Huang and Haag demonstrates how one can reduce CO and produce aromatics with such a system. An intriguing paper by Benner, Perkins, and Vollhardt reports Fischer-Tropsch chemistry by cobalt-supported catalyst not on an inorganic but rather on a polymer support. Overall, this volume is an excellent collection of papers in the field of CO activation. The quality of the reproduction is excellent, and the inclusion of an index is a convenient addition. This volume will be a worthwhile addition to any library and, considering the reasonable price, to many personal collections. Joseph S. Merola, Exxon Research h Engineering Company
Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry, 8th Edition, Fe, Organoiron Compounds, Part A, Ferrocene 4. J. Fiissel, volume author, A. Slawisch, volume editor. 1980. iv + 302 pages. DM 777, $456.90. Part A, Ferrocene 7. M. Drossmar-Wolf, volume author, A. Slawisch, volume editor. 1980. vi + 270 pages. DM 657, $387.70. Gmelin Institut fur Anorganische Chemie der Max-Planck-Gesellschaftzur Forderung der Wissenschaften and Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York. The present Gmelin volumes continue the coverage of the vast field of ferrocene and its derivatives (Parts A l , A2, A3, and A6 have been published previously). Volume A4 covers mononuclear, monosubstituted ferrocenes with nitrogen-containingsubstituents: ferrocenyl-substitutedamines, amides, isocyanate, imines,nitriles, azo compounds, semicarbazones,azides, oximes, nitro and nitroso compounds, and diverse N-containing heterocycles. Volume A7 deals with mononuclear, disubstituted (mostly l,l’,1,2, and 1,3) ferrocenes with carbon-, hydrogen-, halogen-, and oxygen-containing substituents. The latter include ferrocenyl-substituted alcohols, phenols, esters, ethers, acetals and aldehydes. A rich organic chemistry is revealed, but the emphasis is on the individual compounds and their properties. In text and tables we are informed in great detail about their preparation and physical, electrochemical,and spectroscopic properties, as well as chemical reactions if such have been studied. Each section is provided with references (through 1979) to original journal articles, patents, theses, and conference reports. The coverage, as usual, appears to be exhaustive, and the references to the abundant Russian literature in this field, principally papers from Nesmeyanov’s laboratory, will be very useful to have. The many formulas and equations used to illustrate structure and chemistry enhance the utility of these volumes. Both books are written in German, but English translations of the table of contents, the preface, a short section on ferrocene chirality, and chapter titles and section headings are provided. Further volumes of this useful Gmelin miniseries on ferrocene compounds may be expected. Dietmar Seyferth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Book Reviews Progress in Inorganic Chemistry. Volume 28. Edited by S. J. Lippard. Wiley Interscience, New York. 1981. v $45.00.
+ 463 pp.
This volume begins by continuing this series’ precedent (see Volume 27) of publishing a (polished and perceptive) review paper authored by a graduate student at Stanford University. Given the opportunity, this might grow into an interesting international competition! In this chapter, P. J. Brothers presents a nicely organized and well-reasoned review of the concept of and examplea of heterolytic activation of H2, This critical analysis should stimulate further careful mechanistic work in an important area. It is a tribute to the utility of RhCl(PPh& that F. H. Jardine is able to write well over 100 pages about its preparation, properties, and stoichiometric and catalytic reactions. Citing results from the author’s own 1967 thesis, this review has much of the practical flavor of an “insider’s”view, even to the point of discussing the effect of impurities on catalytic reactions of “Wilkinson’scomplex” (a name which is understandably rare in Jardine’s review!). Tachikawa and Muetterties review metal carbide clusters, a newly emerging research topic. This chapter begins to systematize the Black Art of carbide cluster synthesis, but perhaps suffers from being written a year too early: several discoveries concerning carbide cluster reactivity were published too recently for inclusion in this chapter. Zvi Dori reviews “The Coordination Chemistry of Tungsten”, a euphemism to describe the nonorganometallic aspects of the NO-, and hydride-ligated field. As an added attraction, N2-, complexes are also included. The period of review extends to late 1979, which unfortunately misses some of the recent explosion of S/Fe/Mo (and W) nitrogenase model chemistry. The article is nicely illustrated with ORTEP-qUdity drawings rather than the (less accurate) sketches commonly employed. Favas and Kepert extend their long series of papers in applied geometry to rationalize and predict structures of coordination numbers 9,10, and 12. For complexes with identical ligands (e.g., M(unidentate)lo or M(bidentate)6), the general structural predictions are usually independent of the parameters chosen for the repulsive force law. The review is comprehensive and systematic, but remains somewhat formal, due to the lack of an abundance of experimental data for comparison. Unfortunately, the authors’ promise (p 348) to generalize their results to clusters and carboranes is never fulfilled. Finally, Wong and Schatz propose and develop a mathematical model of the dynamic (vibronic) coupling between the several potential surfaces appropriate to mixed-valence systems. Applications and predictions receive major emphasis, suggesting that this paper will have considerable future impact in this field. Overall, this volume is an error-free tour through some unequivocally topical areas. It represents a nice balance between theory and experiment and also between standard literature reviews and original contributions. Kenneth G. Caulton, Indiana University
