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Accurate molecular structures. Their determination and importance
252
Book Reviews/Journalof Molecular Structure 354 (1995) 251-253
quantum mechanical basis for molecular shape is in good health. Nothing could be further from the case! The more rigorous the enquiry into the quantum mechanics, the more elusive the classical notion of shape used throughout this book
becomes. Of course the book is really intended to be an introduction to the topological characterization of classical molecular shapes for which it can be recommended. R.G.W.
Stereocontroiled Organic Synthesis, edited by Barry M. Trust; Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, UK, 1994, pp. x + 482, price £70.00. ISBN 0-865-42833-6.
In my copy there was a serious error in that the first pages of the chapters by Professors Koga and Reetz were interchanged. In spite of the foregoing, I enjoyed reading the chemistry presented in this volume, which I regard as a most valuable reference volume, which presents a "snapshot" of some of the most important and valuable methods available today for stereocontrolled organic synthesis. Each individual topic, including asymmetric catalysis, organometaUic chemistry, biotransformation, natural product synthesis, and antitumour activity, is treated in some detail by leaders in the various areas. The result is a wide-ranging work, which will prove invaluable to practising organic chemists, especially those just starting out in a particular area of research. However, I am certain that organic chemists of all levels of expertise would find this a fascinating read. G.P.
This book covers a topic of major importance in organic chemistry, the control of stereochemistry in organic synthesis. This is a very broad topic and this volume attempts to cover most of the important areas using individual chapters written by experts in particular areas. This results in 20 chapters, and a good level of coverage is achieved. As would be expected from such a large number of contributors, the style varies greatly, as does the "readability". There is also great variation in the quality of presentation, and extreme variability in the quality of writing. In places, the text can be quite impenetrable, and difficult to follow. The overall presentation is also very varied, with individual chapters presented with different fonts, font size, line spacing, and diagram preferences.
Accurate Molecular Structures. Their Determination and Importance, edited by A. Domenicano and I. Hargittai; International Union of Crystallography and Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. xii + 590, price £60. ISBN 0-19-855556-3. There is no need to convince chemists that molecular structures are important, particularly readers of the Journal of Molecular Structure. But I have often heard it argued that accurate structures - say, to better than 0.01 ,~ for bond lengths or l ° for angles - - are an expensive luxury, and of no significance to our understanding of chemical properties and reactions. Next time you meet someone who takes that view, give them this book and demand that they read it! To start at the end, there are six chapters on applications, showing the importance of accurate
structures. The more general ones, covering wide ranges of examples in inorganic or organic chemistry, are probably the most useful, but others show the value of detailed study of specific groups of compounds (metal clusters and aromatic compounds). There are also excellent accounts of how information on reaction mechanisms can be extracted from structural data for large numbers of related compounds, and of the effects of the environments of molecules in crystals on their structures. The major part of the book consists of accounts of how accurate structures are determined. All the important methods are here - - gas-phase techniques such as electron diffraction, microwave spectroscopy and vibration-rotation spectroscopy, half a dozen chapters on various aspects of crystallography, and chapters on NMR in liquid crystal solvents (the only method which can give
Book Reviews~Journalof Molecular Structure 354 (1995) 251-253
accurate structures in solution), as well as accounts of theoretical methods, both quantum mechanical and empirical (molecular mechanics). There is also a chapter devoted to crystal structure databases, and how analyses of many structures may reveal important structural features which can be missed or discarded as insignificant in a study of a single compound. In general, these chapters are first rate. They are derived from lectures given at a Summer School, and show clearly that they were prepared with the aim of teaching the principles of the various techniques, rather than presenting the authors' own latest results. The consequence is that this book now provides ideal introductions to many structural methods. There are only two significant problems. One is the inevitable one for an edited collection of contributions - - that styles vary. A few authors, but only a few, have gone into more detail than is appropriate, or have limited their attention to a
253
few narrow examples rather than presenting the full breadth of their topic. The other problem is that the Summer School was held in 1985 but, although references indicate that chapters were completed in 1988, the book was not published until 1992. Now I cannot complain, I have been slow in reviewing it. (My excuse is that it was borrowed so often by my students that I never had a chance to read it myself!) But some of the material, particularly that relating to theoretical methods, has become significantly out of date already. Problems which were then beyond the range of the fastest available computers can now be solved routinely. Otherwise, this is an extremely valuable book for advanced undergraduates, for research students, and for all those chemists who believe that accurate molecular structures are unimportant luxuries. D.W.H.R.
Book Reviews/Journalof Molecular Structure 354 (1995) 251-253
quantum mechanical basis for molecular shape is in good health. Nothing could be further from the case! The more rigorous the enquiry into the quantum mechanics, the more elusive the classical notion of shape used throughout this book
becomes. Of course the book is really intended to be an introduction to the topological characterization of classical molecular shapes for which it can be recommended. R.G.W.
Stereocontroiled Organic Synthesis, edited by Barry M. Trust; Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, UK, 1994, pp. x + 482, price £70.00. ISBN 0-865-42833-6.
In my copy there was a serious error in that the first pages of the chapters by Professors Koga and Reetz were interchanged. In spite of the foregoing, I enjoyed reading the chemistry presented in this volume, which I regard as a most valuable reference volume, which presents a "snapshot" of some of the most important and valuable methods available today for stereocontrolled organic synthesis. Each individual topic, including asymmetric catalysis, organometaUic chemistry, biotransformation, natural product synthesis, and antitumour activity, is treated in some detail by leaders in the various areas. The result is a wide-ranging work, which will prove invaluable to practising organic chemists, especially those just starting out in a particular area of research. However, I am certain that organic chemists of all levels of expertise would find this a fascinating read. G.P.
This book covers a topic of major importance in organic chemistry, the control of stereochemistry in organic synthesis. This is a very broad topic and this volume attempts to cover most of the important areas using individual chapters written by experts in particular areas. This results in 20 chapters, and a good level of coverage is achieved. As would be expected from such a large number of contributors, the style varies greatly, as does the "readability". There is also great variation in the quality of presentation, and extreme variability in the quality of writing. In places, the text can be quite impenetrable, and difficult to follow. The overall presentation is also very varied, with individual chapters presented with different fonts, font size, line spacing, and diagram preferences.
Accurate Molecular Structures. Their Determination and Importance, edited by A. Domenicano and I. Hargittai; International Union of Crystallography and Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. xii + 590, price £60. ISBN 0-19-855556-3. There is no need to convince chemists that molecular structures are important, particularly readers of the Journal of Molecular Structure. But I have often heard it argued that accurate structures - say, to better than 0.01 ,~ for bond lengths or l ° for angles - - are an expensive luxury, and of no significance to our understanding of chemical properties and reactions. Next time you meet someone who takes that view, give them this book and demand that they read it! To start at the end, there are six chapters on applications, showing the importance of accurate
structures. The more general ones, covering wide ranges of examples in inorganic or organic chemistry, are probably the most useful, but others show the value of detailed study of specific groups of compounds (metal clusters and aromatic compounds). There are also excellent accounts of how information on reaction mechanisms can be extracted from structural data for large numbers of related compounds, and of the effects of the environments of molecules in crystals on their structures. The major part of the book consists of accounts of how accurate structures are determined. All the important methods are here - - gas-phase techniques such as electron diffraction, microwave spectroscopy and vibration-rotation spectroscopy, half a dozen chapters on various aspects of crystallography, and chapters on NMR in liquid crystal solvents (the only method which can give
Book Reviews~Journalof Molecular Structure 354 (1995) 251-253
accurate structures in solution), as well as accounts of theoretical methods, both quantum mechanical and empirical (molecular mechanics). There is also a chapter devoted to crystal structure databases, and how analyses of many structures may reveal important structural features which can be missed or discarded as insignificant in a study of a single compound. In general, these chapters are first rate. They are derived from lectures given at a Summer School, and show clearly that they were prepared with the aim of teaching the principles of the various techniques, rather than presenting the authors' own latest results. The consequence is that this book now provides ideal introductions to many structural methods. There are only two significant problems. One is the inevitable one for an edited collection of contributions - - that styles vary. A few authors, but only a few, have gone into more detail than is appropriate, or have limited their attention to a
253
few narrow examples rather than presenting the full breadth of their topic. The other problem is that the Summer School was held in 1985 but, although references indicate that chapters were completed in 1988, the book was not published until 1992. Now I cannot complain, I have been slow in reviewing it. (My excuse is that it was borrowed so often by my students that I never had a chance to read it myself!) But some of the material, particularly that relating to theoretical methods, has become significantly out of date already. Problems which were then beyond the range of the fastest available computers can now be solved routinely. Otherwise, this is an extremely valuable book for advanced undergraduates, for research students, and for all those chemists who believe that accurate molecular structures are unimportant luxuries. D.W.H.R.