Cryst. Growth Des. 2002, 2, 79
79
Book Reviews Supramolecular Organometallic Chemistry. Ionel Haiduc and Frank T. Edelmann. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2000. ISBN 3-527-29533-X. As a discrete field, supramolecular organometallic chemistry did not exist until the publication of Haiduc and Edelmann’s book Supramolecular Organometallic Chemistry. Of course, there are certainly plenty of chemists working with organometallic compounds who consider themselves to be doing research of a supramolecular nature. There is also a very sizable body of researchers who consider themselves organometallic chemists whose work may be considered under the umbrella of supramolecular chemistry. In his foreword, the “father of supramolecular chemistry” Jean-Marie Lehn congratulates Haiduc and Edelmann on “carrying the flame of Supramolecular Chemistry into yet another domain.” He might well have added that it is a domain that the authors have forged themselves from the longawaited fusion of two parallel fields of chemistry. The resulting melting pot can only throw up new and interesting comparisons, and as such the book does not disappoint. Haiduc and Edelmann have taken the usual liberal view of organometallic chemistry as being anything that involves metal-carbon bonds plus few related compounds that do not quite fall into this category. This has the desired effect of excluding the vast majority of organic and inorganic coordination-complex-based supramolecular chemistry and allows the book to concentrate mainly on systems that usually pass unnoticed by the supramolecular community. This is despite the fact that the metal-carbon bonds very often play only a very secondary role in the supramolecular chemistry described. The fact that there exists a staggering number of supramolecular organometallic compounds is very strongly delineated by the sheer thoroughness of Haiduc and Edelmann’s coverage. A quick count reveals in excess of 2500 literature referencessif it is not in here it probably has not been done. Broadly, the book can be divided into three very unequal sections. The introductory section in chapter one gives a rather brief look into supramolecular concepts that are of relevance to the topic in hand, as well as introducing the types of interaction that can be classed as supramolecular in the context of the work. As well as the usual dative interactions and hydrogen bonds, organizing forces such as secondary bonds that are sometimes overlooked are included. Concepts such as self-assembly and self-organization are also discussed. The next chapter gives an overview of organometallics that can be thought of as molecular host compounds.
This includes a number of metallocene-appended systems as well as species in which the organometallic is more directly connected to the host cavity. The third, and by far the largest section of the book, comprises chapters 3-7, which all describe the self-assembly of supramolecular aggregates by various types of interaction (there are chapters on self-assembly by dative bonding, secondary bonding, hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions and π-interactions). This vast body of work lays a firmly phenomenological emphasis on the book, and much of the material is of a descriptive nature. The chapters and subsections are systematically organized by metals and interaction types and, pleasingly, are accompanied by a large number of clear illustrationss vital in this complex area. The way the material in the majority of the book is grouped (according to the interaction giving rise to the self-assembly) can make it difficult to locate otherwise familiar topics. Organometallic crystal engineering, for example, is hiding after organoantimony compounds in the chapter on hydrogen bonded self-assembly. Also conspicuously absent in a book that places a great deal of emphasis on self-assembly are the usual pyridyl or crown ether based catenanes, rotaxanes, helicates, and knots. These are not organometallic, of course, and their deliberate omission is part and parcel of the aim of the book that appears to be to bring together ostensibly disparate topics that are perhaps less familiar to the supramolecular chemist and show that they can all be described in the same language. This objective has been comprehensively realized. This is not a book for beginning students or those new to supramolecular chemistry, nor is it intended to be. It will, however, be invaluable to researchers in whatever field who feel in need of stimulation and to those who appreciate the beauty of the chemical world. Even the most cursory trawl through the extensive illustrations cannot fail to generate innovative research ideas, particularly from the juxtaposition of such a variety of chemical systems, and the book is so comprehensively referenced that the next step is always clear. Overall, this book is a marvel of thoroughness and attention to detail. Its illustrations make it very accessible and the organization and choice of material is refreshing and stimulating. A useful addition to the bookshelves of anybody working with organometallics or with supramolecules. Well done! Jonathan W. Steed King’s College London CG010031L 10.1021/cg010031l
