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Handbook of photochemistry
475 science as an extension of philosophy in the old-fashioned sense of that word, and are prepared to devote careful thought to ideas that have a very good chance of being quite wrong, then you will find much to intrigue you in this unsatisfying but stimulating book. A.G.C.-S.
Handbook
of Pfzorochetnistry,
by S. L. MURO~, Dekker,
New York,
1973,
pp.
xi + 272, price $27.00.
This aims to be a compilation of parameters commonly utilised in the fields of organic photochemistry and spectroscopy. The first four sections comprise an extensive tabulation of singlet and triplet energies and lifetimes, together with quantum yields of fluorescence, phosphorescence and inter-system crossing, of organic molecules used as sensitisers and quenchers. These are split into two groups, extinction coefficients at 254, 313 and 366 nm being inchrded for the more commonly used ones. The method of presentation results in much duplication of data - for example, section 2 is a detailed tabulation of the energies of the lowest excited triplet states of the molecules (already given in section 1) arranged in order of increasing energy - and the splitting of the main tabulation makes it less convenient to use. These sections are fohowed by tabIes of rates of energy transfer, rates of hydrogen abstraction, and bond dissociation energies, and equations for three kinetic schemes. Sections 9 to 16 cover various practical aspects of photochemistry, including solvent properties, fibers, actinometer solutions, low temperature baths and details of a selection of ultra-violet sources and photomultipliers. The remaining sections are tabulations of various properties sr:ch as dipole moments and ESR parameters of excited states, reduction potentials of aromatic hydrocarbons, icnisation potentials of selected compounds and Hammett c constants. Summaries of infrared group frequencies and NhiR chemical shift parameters are also included. The tables of fundamental constants and conversion factors are inadequate; thus although kcal mol-r and eV are used throughout the book, the conversions to kJ mol-’ are not given. A useful classified bibliography is included, in addition to detailed references to the main body of the book. In general the selection of material incorporated is reasonable, bearing in mind the problems of personal preference inherent in such a handbook, but much of the information is readily available from other reference texts. At this price, the book wilI commend itself only to those whose requirements it exactly matches. A. J.B.
Handbook
of Pfzorochetnistry,
by S. L. MURO~, Dekker,
New York,
1973,
pp.
xi + 272, price $27.00.
This aims to be a compilation of parameters commonly utilised in the fields of organic photochemistry and spectroscopy. The first four sections comprise an extensive tabulation of singlet and triplet energies and lifetimes, together with quantum yields of fluorescence, phosphorescence and inter-system crossing, of organic molecules used as sensitisers and quenchers. These are split into two groups, extinction coefficients at 254, 313 and 366 nm being inchrded for the more commonly used ones. The method of presentation results in much duplication of data - for example, section 2 is a detailed tabulation of the energies of the lowest excited triplet states of the molecules (already given in section 1) arranged in order of increasing energy - and the splitting of the main tabulation makes it less convenient to use. These sections are fohowed by tabIes of rates of energy transfer, rates of hydrogen abstraction, and bond dissociation energies, and equations for three kinetic schemes. Sections 9 to 16 cover various practical aspects of photochemistry, including solvent properties, fibers, actinometer solutions, low temperature baths and details of a selection of ultra-violet sources and photomultipliers. The remaining sections are tabulations of various properties sr:ch as dipole moments and ESR parameters of excited states, reduction potentials of aromatic hydrocarbons, icnisation potentials of selected compounds and Hammett c constants. Summaries of infrared group frequencies and NhiR chemical shift parameters are also included. The tables of fundamental constants and conversion factors are inadequate; thus although kcal mol-r and eV are used throughout the book, the conversions to kJ mol-’ are not given. A useful classified bibliography is included, in addition to detailed references to the main body of the book. In general the selection of material incorporated is reasonable, bearing in mind the problems of personal preference inherent in such a handbook, but much of the information is readily available from other reference texts. At this price, the book wilI commend itself only to those whose requirements it exactly matches. A. J.B.