606 Organometallics, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1986
Rook Reviews
Book Reviews Metallo-organic Chemistry. By A. J. Pearson. Wiley, New York. 1985. xi + 398 pages. $29.95. As the title suggests, this book is aimed primarily at the organic chemist who desires a preliminary education in the burgeoning area of organometallic chemistry. The objective is to provide coverage of the basic aspects of organometallic chemistry in the context of reactivity patterns and to rationalize these trends in terms of simple frontier molecular orbital theory. The author is a researcher who has demonstrated the application of many organometallic compounds to organic synthesis, and the text is liberally sprinkled with examples of useful stoichiometric and catalytic reactions promoted by transition-metal complexes. The first chapter on the basics of bonding and electron counting involving metals and a variety of organic ligands (20 pages) may seem rather cursory to the inorganic chemist but actually does a good job of providing the minimum necessary introduction to these vital concepts. Chapter 2 surveys common properties and reactions of organometallic compounds, including fluxional behavior, oxidative addition and reductive elimination, a- and pelimination, and insertion reactions. Also included are discussions of important catalytic reactions, such as olefin metathesis, hydroformylation, polymerization and oligomerization, Wacker oxidation, epoxidation, and hydrogenation. Important principles are emphasized, with concentration on mechanisms and the significance of these reactions in the synthesis of organic molecules. The use of transition-metal centers for the stabilization of reactive organic species is also covered in this chapter. After covering basic principles, and also after convincing the reader that organometallic chemistry is of some use to an organic chemist from a number of viewpoints, the author uses the remaining seven chapters to discuss in more detail the synthesis, properties, and chemistry of metal-carbon bonded compounds. The arrangement of material here is sensibly organized by the hapticity of the organic ligand, beginning with alkyl compounds and leading on to polyhapto ligands. Each chapter contains appropriate literature citations, many of them review articles, and salient references through mid-1982 are included. The book is remarkably free of typographical errors, and the structural drawings are well presented. This publication is one of a number of recent offerings in this area and in my opinion will be a useful text for those organic chemists whose background in this important area is deficient and who desire a basic introductory text. However, no problems are provided after each chapter, a deficiency if the book is to be used as a teaching text. The price is reasonable and places this book within the reach of any student. Russell P. Hughes, Dartmouth College
Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry. 8th Edition. Thorium. Supplement Volume E. Coordination Compounds. K. W. Bagnall and B. Kanellakopulos, volume authors. C. Keller and K.-C. Buschbeck, volume editors. Gmelin Institut fur Anorganische Chemie der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenchaften and Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York. 1985. xviii + 322 pages. DM 988, $368.66. The present volume represents part of the Gmelin Institute’s recent effort to update the treatment of radium and the actinide elements in its “Handbuch der Anorganischen Chemie” series. Supplement Volume E of the 8th edition is authored by Professors Kenneth W. Bagnall of the University of Manchester and Basil Kanellakopulos of the Kernforschungszentrum, Karlsruhe. Although this volume is entitled, “Coordination Compounds”, the terminology is employed in the broadest sense, and there is an extensive treatment of thorium organometallic compounds. Coverage of the literature extends through the end of 1983.
The organization of this monograph is by ligand type. Section 1deals with “Complex Compounds of Thorium” and is subdivided into an introduction, complexes with neutral donor ligands (e.g., amines, phosphorus donors, oxygen doors), 1,3-diketones (e.g., acetylacetonates), tropolone and related ligands, 8-quinolinol and related ligands, cupferron and related ligands, dialkylcarbamates, Schiff bases, other ligands (e.g., poly( 1-pyrazolyl)borates),and phthalocyanines. The second section deals with organometallic compounds of thorium and treats in successive subsections, allyl compounds, cyclopentadienyl compounds, compounds with substituted cyclopentadienyl ligands, indenyl compounds, compounds with alkylated indenyl ligands, cyclooctatetraene compounds, compounds with substituted cyclooctatetraene ligands, and benzocyclmtatetraene compounds. In both sections, the coverage is well-organized and in-depth. The wealth of information provided for each compound includes synthetic approaches, spectroscopic data, color, melting point, crystal structure information, and reaction chemistry. There is an abundance of well-produced figures illustrating molecular structures and other physical data. As in all Gmelin volumes, the present monograph provides a detailed index (in this case by ligand formula) as well as a key to the Gmelin classification system and a table of conversion factors. The price of this volume is obviously prohibitive for most individual researchers; however, it should not deter libraries from investing in such a valuable reference book. All researchers interested in actinide coordination and organometallic chemistry will find this successful volume to be a useful addition to the Gmelin series. Tobin J. Marks, Northwestern University
Fundamental and Technological Aspects of Organo-f-Element Chemistry. Edited by T. J. Marks and I. L. Fragali. D. Reidel Publishing Co., Boston-London-Dordrecht. 1985. xiv + 414 pp. $56.00. This book contains 11 of the main papers presented at the September 1984 NATO Advanced Study Institute on organo-felement chemistry. Like the earlier volume, “Organometallics of the f Elements” (edited by T. J. Marks and R. D. Fischer), on the first NATO AS1 on organolanthanide and organoactinide chemistry, this book constitutes a major resource in the area. The editors (who also organized these conferences) are to be commended for putting in the extra effort needed to make the conference proceedings generally available to the chemical community through these books. This volume includes chapters on organometallic chemistry by Schumann, Kagan, Streitwieser, Takats, Teuben, Marks, and Day. Many of these papers contain valuable information not published in any other form. Also included are an excellent introduction to f-element optical spectroscopy by Edelstein, a critical discussion of f-element NMR spectroscopy by Fischer, and comprehensive surveys of f-element photoelectron spectroscopy, photochemistry, and catalysis. This collection of lectures by some of the best f-element chemists in the world is an excellent source of recent results in this area. William J. Evans, University of California, Irvine
Carbocation Chemistry. By P. Vogel. Institut de Chimie Organique, Universite de Lausanne, Switzerland, and Elsevier, Amsterdam. 1985. xiv + 596 pp. $129.75. Pierre Vogel succeeded in writing a very readable book presenting many basic concepts of modern chemistry through the study of carbocations. Emphasis is given to structure-stability and structure-reactivity relationships. Structural aspects of carbocations in solution and as solids is compared with a thoughtful discussion of substituent effects and solvation. Gaseous ions and their thermochemistry are also discussed and related to solution chemistry. This is followed by chapters on carbocations as reactive intermediates and rearrangements of the ions. Par-
