Electrochemistry: the past thirty years and the next thirty years. A

A volume in honor of J. O'M. Bockris (Bloom, Harry). Galen W. Ewing. J. Chem. Educ. , 1978, 55 (10), p A391. DOI: 10.1021/ed055pA391.1. Publication Da...
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but rhnprersrmwming thiols anddisulfides have sections dealing *prdically with biochemical aspect5 of the functional groups. No other recent book covers organic sulfur chemistry comprehensively enough ta be c o n d e r e d a i a ieneral, yraduate-level textIrmk. An earlier work [I'rire. C. (:.. and Ow. S.. " S u l f a Bondinz." the Ronald Preri company, New YO& 19621 deals with valence, orbitals, divalent sulfur, sulfones, sulfoxides and sulfanium salts, but changes in the field since 1962 certainly warrant this more extensive coverage. Many other books that cover special or purely research topics have usefulness in graduate m u m s requiring specialized rather than general emphasis. Among those with some overlap of topics are "Mechanisms of Sulfur Reactions" [Pryor, W. A,, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York-San Franciseo-Toronta-London, 19621 and "Organosulfur Chemistry" [Janssen, M. J., (Editor), Interscience Publishers, John Wiley and Sons, New York-London-Sidney, 19671. These two examples are chosen from several only t o point out to those familiar with the hwks that differences in content are major and that the books serve more-speeialized functions. A somewhat detailed description of content is as follows: 1) "Sulfur BondingM-the d-orbital prohlem, bonding in SF6, the large-core model with spectral and interatomic distance applications, and chemical implications of the model; 2) "Elemental Sulfur and its Reactionsm-forms of sulfur, the S-S bond, reactions of sulfur; 3) "Vulcanization of Ruhber-emphasis on model systems in sulfur-olefin interactions, accelerated sulfuration of olefins, and the course of sulfur vulcanization; 4) "Thiols, Thiones, Sulfides, Disulfides and Polysulfides, Sulfoxides and Sulfilimines, Sulfonium Salts, Sulfones and Sulfoximines, Sulfinie Acids and Sulfinic Esters. Reactions of Sulfonate and Sulfate Estrr~-these rhnpkrs RWPT physic al yroperrirs (sprrtro, strtattm. srrrrurhemi-trhi. preparation, and reactions (including mechanistic treatments). Each chapter contains an extensive list of references to reviews, monographs, series, and journals. The period through about 1970 or 1971 is covered, with very limited inclusion of work appearing in 1972 and 1973. George K. Helmkamp

university of California Riverside, CA 92521 Electrochemistry: The Past Thirty Years and the Next Thlrly Years. A Volume In Honor of J. OW. Bockris. Edited by Harry Bloom, University of Tasmania, and Felix Gutmonn, Macquarie University (editors). Plenum Press, New York, 1977. xiv 450pp. Figs. and tables. 14 X 22.5 em. $49.50.

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The 28 chapters of this hook represent as many lectures given a t an International Symposium on Electrochemistry honoring the accomplishments of Professor J. O'M. Bockris, held a t the Imperial College, London, April 3-61975. The plan for this symposium, and hence for the book, was unusual in that it featured pairs of invited addresses, one t o summarize the "state of the science." and the other to suggest directions for future research in particular aspects of electro-

chemistry. In most topics, a third speaker has attempted to integrate or summarize the material presented by the first two, perhaps adding some thoughts of his own. The last (and longest) chapter is a "Synopsis" by Professor Bockris, in which he summarizes the many important contributions from his laboratories, which were successivelylocated s t the Imperial College, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Flinders University of South Australia. The topics covered are: electrochemical energy conversion, bioelectrochemistry, electrocatalysis, kinetia of electrode processes, semiconductor electrodes, corrosion, electra-organic chemistry, electrometallurgy of aluminum and other metals, mineral processing, and high-temperature electrolytes. In addition to these more-or-less conventional subjects, is a series entitled "Electrochemistry for a Better World," concerned with energy conversion and storage in a post-fossil fuel society. As one might expect, there is considerable variation from one author to another in stylistic matters as well as in depth of coverage; some chapters are much easier reading than others. same are hiehlv .. ,theoretical while