An lnhodvction to Co-ordination Chemirtry
I). P . Gmddon, Univer~ityof New South Kales. Pergamon P r ~ s s , Ine., New York, 1961. vii 111 pp. Figs. and tnldrs. 15.5 X 23.5cm. $4.
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During the past five years, there has heen R welcome change from almost no hooks on coordination chemistry to more than a half-dozen work8 in this area. The point a t whirh duplication occurs has undoubtedly been reached with the pul,lirntion of this slim hook, Volume 3 in Perg:mon's International Series of Monogmphs on Inorganic Chemistry. Although no radically new material is prcscnted, the author does suewed in presrnting quite 3 diversity of information as n "series of discussions on related themes rather than a n description of coordination compounds of individual elements." Intended primarily for students, this concise introduction to the field may be useful in those inorganic chemistry courses in whirh only minimal time is available for s consideration of coordination compounds, but it will probably have to be s u p p l ~ n m t e d by the instructor even when nard for this purpose. Modern physicochrmiral techniques are stressed throughout. Since the book is intended an L: test, the 101) references, some as recent as 1060. are largely to review articles rather than oriennl publications. Unfort,unetely, IIO references arc provided for the first and last chapters. As a guide ta further study, a bibliography of 35 hooks and reviews is included. Considering the small size of the hook, the numlrcr of tables, graphs, figures, and stmetuml formulas is more than adrquntf. C h e p t ~ rI, Historical Introduction (12 PB ), contains an ahhreviated, familiar presentation of Werner's theory, especially the rlassie role played hy isomerism in establishing configurations for complexes of coordination numbers 4 and 6. Chapter 11, Modern Theories of Coardination Chemistry (26 pp.), the longest chapter, considers Pading's valency-hand theory and tile ligand field theory with particular emphasis on magnetochemical studies. Chapter 111, Polpmerization and Caordinate Saturation (11 pp.), presents in a singlc chapter material not usually treated as :L unit. Chapter IV, The Stability of Complex Salts (14 pp.), not only considers fnctors affecting stithility including the ligand field approach, hut also presents hrief, general descriptions of experimmtnl methods for the determination of stnl~ility constants. Chapter V, The Effvct of Co-ordination on Oxidation Potentials and the Stahilimtion of Tralenry States (7 pp.), ~ ~ S C U S S P S as examples Ag(II), Ni(II1) and (IV), Fe(IV), and univalent and zero-valent Ni and Co. A glaring omission in the references is Ieu.hat elegant ganic, of all of the elements. Section A style and nith n high sense of the developwill he principally concerned with the dement of man's thinking in the scientific termination af the elements in their inorfmmenork. The book ran be recomganic forms, while Section B will consider mended for high school students or the determination of elements in organic graduates interested in science or for compounds. For Section C is reserved the college students not majoring in science, systematio treatment of the detection of because of the hrendth of unified orientathe elements and of functional groups. It tion it providrs. is anticipated that Section A of Part 2 For more sophistirntrd renders, such ns will he issued in seven or eight volumes, subscribers to THIS JOCRVAL, recomlargely organized on the hasis of the mendation must b? qualifird. The treatperiodic tahle. ment should prove to be most disappoinb The present volume considers the s y c ing to those who anticipate n thorough tematic analytical chemistry of six el+ ehemirnl or hioehemical treatment simply ments. I t s chapters and their authors because the book is writhen by a biaare: Copper (W. Charles Cooper), Magchemist,. -4simov states that biochemical nesium (G. B. Wengert, P. F. Reigler, and evolution is by no means ns u.ell worked A. M. Carison), Zinc (James H. Kanzelout as snotomical and physiological meyer), Cadmium (Quintus Fernando and evolution. Whethw this is true or not, Henry Freiser), Mercury (J. F. Coetaee), many fascinating pan& of biochemical Tin (Marie Farnsworth and Joseph evolution whirh ruuld h v e been prePekola). The organization of each chapsented, are not. The classical v:uiations ter is relatively uniform. The occurrenre of structure within the porphyrins, to of the element, its properties, and induscite a simpk example, are mrrdy mentrial uses are followed by sections covering tioned in words. The emphasis on special sampling problems, qualitative "living molecules" is hut one vim. of detection, separative and determinative those currently hdd, and is the only one steps. The determination of the element presented. Except for s general disin specific materials and a group of criticlaimer of certainty, this notion is coupled rally selected laboratory procedures conwith the unqualified concept of "precelclude each chapter. Despite the evident Irdar organisms." cooperation between the editors and the Thew criticisms and others which authors, there are some rather striking could be detailed under the head of differences in the several rhapters. Chapinadequate biochemical treatment are ters range in length from 37 pages for not ?specially adverse to what appears to copper t o 165 pages for zinc. There he the main purpose of the writing. The sepm to be few serious omissiona, alhook is evidently meant to be s popular though it does seem odd to find no menprrsentation, and it meets such an O ~ I ~ P C tion of an EDTA method for copper, or of tive almost as well as H n o n ~ h w ~ i ctreatd an ion exchange procedure for that same nwnt mn Iw exp~ctedto. element. A few methods are inrluded which are a t best of historical interest SIDXET IT. Fox only. Methods selected include instruOcea,~ographieInslitate mental (e. g. polarogmphic, spectrograFlorida Stale LTnivewilr, phic, x-ray, radiochemical, ete.) as well as Tallahassee the more conventional wet methods. The continl~ouepagination of Part 1 has been (Continued o r b page A54) trates, and eyelopentadienyls. The final chapter, Some Practical Applications (12 pp.), discusses inner complexes, solvent extraction, and sequestration, hut is limited almost exclusively to chelate compounds.
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