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Chemistry and physics of carbon—Volume 24
Talanta, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 493 495, 1995
~
Pergamon
Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain
BOOK REVIEWS
andPhysics
Chemistry of Carbon--Volume 24: P. A. THROWER (editor), Dekker, New York, 1994. Pages: xv + 316. $165.00. ISBN 0-8247-9091-X. This is the latest volume in a series which has earned a deservedly high reputation in the carbon community. Each volume contains contributions by leading experts and in this book, four quite diverse topics are brought together to form another authoritative account of some currently topical aspects of the chemistry and physics of carbon. The opening section, comprising some 40 pages, deals with the early stages of pitch carbonization and provides a description of the kinetics of pitch polymerization leading to mesophase formation and development. By focusing on the polymerization process during mesophase formation, the mechanism of the growth of the mesophase spheres from the isotropic phase is also described. Brief descriptions are included of the key analytical methods and procedures used to derive the data on which these descriptions are based, and a good set of references is provided in this very clear expose of recent work of the UCAR Carbon Company in this field. The second chapter deals with the quite different subject of the thermal conductivity of diamond. With the recent advances in the development of diamond films and bearing in mind that diamond has a higher thermal conductivity than copper, this chapter is certainly timely. After an outline of the theoretical background of the thermal conductivity of non-metallic solids, the published data on the thermal conductivity of single crystal diamond and chemically vapour-deposited films follows in successive sections. This provides a thorough review of the available data and leads to a concluding section which highlights the advances made in the past 5 years and indicates where further research is required. The statement that "the thermal conductivity of diamond is one of the most important physical parameters of this fascinating and potentially technologically important forms of carbon" is well justified by this chapter. The remaining two chapters are of roughly equal length and in total comprise nearly two thirds of the book. "'Chemistry in the production and utilization of needle coke" is a contribution from Japanese workers under the leadership of lsao Mochida and is an excellent review covering the properties and structure of needle coke, commercial production procedures and the relevant carbonization chemistry. It is comprehensive, detailed and highly informative and will undoubtedly become essential background reading for anyone starting work in this area. The final chapter examines the role of physical, solid-state analytical and electro-chemistry in the study of carbon surfaces. The authors cited their objective as being to provide a more unified and comprehensive review of carbon surface properties and to illustrate the importance of these properties in some applications such as catalysis and gasification. They must be satisfied with the result of their efforts and they have produced an authoritative account of a topic which has been the subject for a very large number of published papers as evidenced by the extensive references provided. In keeping with previous books in this series, this one is well produced with clear script and illustrations and is well bound in hard-back form. At $165 it is not cheap but it is an excellent contribution to the subject and will be a valuable acquisition for libraries and indeed for all individual carbon scientists who can afford it. J. W. PATRICK
Advancesin Steroid Analysis '93: S. GOROG (editor), Akad6miai
Kiad6, Budapest, 1994. Pages: xiii + 623. £85.00.
This book is a record of the fifth in a series of symposia held in Hungary, involving a total of sixty-five papers from contributors in twenty countries. Less than a third of the papers are from the host country, Steroid hormones form the main focus, but analysis of complex mixtures of sterols, bile acids, and the vitamins D, also figure prominently. The biochemical flavour of these texts increases inexorably, as does the clinical dimension, at the expense of chemical and pharmaceutical aspects of steroid analysis. Accounts of receptor binding studies and immunoassay methods outnumber those concerned with chromatographic methods and spectroscopy (HPLC, HPTLC and GS-MS) and a substantial chapter is devoted to steroid hormone biosynthesis, metabolism and enzymology. In contrast to previous volumes in this series, there is a dearth of novel methodology, testifying no doubt to the success of methods developed in the 1980's for the determination of trace amounts of anabolic steroids. The final third of the volume is devoted to clinical studies, and a special session entitled "'environment, steroids and cancer", in which epidemiology and endocrinology come to the fore. The latter chapter is of the "'review-lecture" type and concentrates mainly upon breast cancer and prostatic cancer, and the possible role of dietary habits in influencing the incidence of these diseases. The book is fairly free of trivial errors and is reasonably uniform in style, in spite of its being reproduced directly from such a large number of authors' manuscripts. It again represents excellent value for money. A. B. TURNER 493
~
Pergamon
Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain
BOOK REVIEWS
andPhysics
Chemistry of Carbon--Volume 24: P. A. THROWER (editor), Dekker, New York, 1994. Pages: xv + 316. $165.00. ISBN 0-8247-9091-X. This is the latest volume in a series which has earned a deservedly high reputation in the carbon community. Each volume contains contributions by leading experts and in this book, four quite diverse topics are brought together to form another authoritative account of some currently topical aspects of the chemistry and physics of carbon. The opening section, comprising some 40 pages, deals with the early stages of pitch carbonization and provides a description of the kinetics of pitch polymerization leading to mesophase formation and development. By focusing on the polymerization process during mesophase formation, the mechanism of the growth of the mesophase spheres from the isotropic phase is also described. Brief descriptions are included of the key analytical methods and procedures used to derive the data on which these descriptions are based, and a good set of references is provided in this very clear expose of recent work of the UCAR Carbon Company in this field. The second chapter deals with the quite different subject of the thermal conductivity of diamond. With the recent advances in the development of diamond films and bearing in mind that diamond has a higher thermal conductivity than copper, this chapter is certainly timely. After an outline of the theoretical background of the thermal conductivity of non-metallic solids, the published data on the thermal conductivity of single crystal diamond and chemically vapour-deposited films follows in successive sections. This provides a thorough review of the available data and leads to a concluding section which highlights the advances made in the past 5 years and indicates where further research is required. The statement that "the thermal conductivity of diamond is one of the most important physical parameters of this fascinating and potentially technologically important forms of carbon" is well justified by this chapter. The remaining two chapters are of roughly equal length and in total comprise nearly two thirds of the book. "'Chemistry in the production and utilization of needle coke" is a contribution from Japanese workers under the leadership of lsao Mochida and is an excellent review covering the properties and structure of needle coke, commercial production procedures and the relevant carbonization chemistry. It is comprehensive, detailed and highly informative and will undoubtedly become essential background reading for anyone starting work in this area. The final chapter examines the role of physical, solid-state analytical and electro-chemistry in the study of carbon surfaces. The authors cited their objective as being to provide a more unified and comprehensive review of carbon surface properties and to illustrate the importance of these properties in some applications such as catalysis and gasification. They must be satisfied with the result of their efforts and they have produced an authoritative account of a topic which has been the subject for a very large number of published papers as evidenced by the extensive references provided. In keeping with previous books in this series, this one is well produced with clear script and illustrations and is well bound in hard-back form. At $165 it is not cheap but it is an excellent contribution to the subject and will be a valuable acquisition for libraries and indeed for all individual carbon scientists who can afford it. J. W. PATRICK
Advancesin Steroid Analysis '93: S. GOROG (editor), Akad6miai
Kiad6, Budapest, 1994. Pages: xiii + 623. £85.00.
This book is a record of the fifth in a series of symposia held in Hungary, involving a total of sixty-five papers from contributors in twenty countries. Less than a third of the papers are from the host country, Steroid hormones form the main focus, but analysis of complex mixtures of sterols, bile acids, and the vitamins D, also figure prominently. The biochemical flavour of these texts increases inexorably, as does the clinical dimension, at the expense of chemical and pharmaceutical aspects of steroid analysis. Accounts of receptor binding studies and immunoassay methods outnumber those concerned with chromatographic methods and spectroscopy (HPLC, HPTLC and GS-MS) and a substantial chapter is devoted to steroid hormone biosynthesis, metabolism and enzymology. In contrast to previous volumes in this series, there is a dearth of novel methodology, testifying no doubt to the success of methods developed in the 1980's for the determination of trace amounts of anabolic steroids. The final third of the volume is devoted to clinical studies, and a special session entitled "'environment, steroids and cancer", in which epidemiology and endocrinology come to the fore. The latter chapter is of the "'review-lecture" type and concentrates mainly upon breast cancer and prostatic cancer, and the possible role of dietary habits in influencing the incidence of these diseases. The book is fairly free of trivial errors and is reasonably uniform in style, in spite of its being reproduced directly from such a large number of authors' manuscripts. It again represents excellent value for money. A. B. TURNER 493