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Solid state NMR for chemists
564
BOOK
REVIEWS
references to related topics as well as an excellent selection of key literature references. Everything is well-organized and very clearly explained, the proof has been carefully checked, and the book is very well produced. No scientist concerned with NMR spectroscopy should be without this book. W.S.B. NMR for Liquid Fossil Fuels, Leon&s sterdam, 1987.242 pages. $70.00.
Petrakis and David Allen. Elsevier, Am-
This book is described as Volume 1 in Elsevier’s “Analytical Spectroscopy Library.” The first part is an introduction to NMR for the nonspecialist and includes a brief description of pulse techniques and 2D methods. A few illustrations of liquid fossil fuel spectra are provided. The second part of the book describes the use of various correlations to estimate composition parameters and functional group content for liquid fuels, such as charge stocks and coal extracts, using both proton and carbon- 13 spectroscopy. Listings of Fortran programs for these types of calculation are given in an appendix. The use of compositional analysis to predict physical and thermodynamic properties of the liquids is described. The text material is reproduced from what appears to be justified typewritten copy, and, although the figures are clear enough, the reproduction of the text is so faint that the reader must strain to follow it; indeed some of the characters, such as lowercase “s” and “f”, are consistently defective throughout the book, so that not all the problem can be blamed on the reproduction process. Considering the ratio of price to content, this volume can only be recommended for those working directly in fossil fuel analysis who are not already well-versed in NMR or who wish to make use of the empirical correlations which are presented. W.S.B.
Solid State NMR for Chemists, Cohn A. Fyfe. C.F.C. Press, Guelph, Ontario, 1984.593 pages. $65 Cdn.; $55 U.S. This volume covers solid-state NMR in a broad sense, including applications to abundant nuclei and the use of “wide-line” methods and conventional relaxationtime measurements, as well as the very recent extensions toward higher resolution. Thus, it answers from a broad perspective the question, “What can solid-state NMR do for the chemist?’ The book is carefully organized, clear and easy to read, and provided with many figures and diagrams and extensive lists of references. All sorts of systems are described, from canine achilles tendon to anthracite, from ‘H and r3C to ‘H and “Al, from metal carbonyls to peptides. There are good diagrams of apparatus and many, many spectra. However, there is no focused discussion about how the experimenter should go about choosing parameters when confronted with an instrument, but this is perhaps not to be expected in a book with so broad a point of view.
BOOK REVIEWS
565
There are a few, relatively minor, points which detract from the polished nature of the text. The author vacillates between including mathematical equations as part of the flow of text or simply inserting them somewhere on a page. The name of element number 15 is also spelled at different points with a variable number of letters “0”. The symbol H is used for Hamiltonian and for magnetic field in two successive equations. On page 50, it is stated that “ l/2 = 0.62.” In a number of equations, there is ambiguity concerning how much of the expression belongs in a denominator, a problem analogous to that of whether 1/ 2 J is proportional to J or to 1 /J. Less trivial is the attempt to print a substantial fraction of the text in bold face: so much appears in this type face that the distinction tends to lose its impact and merely be distracting, while at some places the contrast from normal type is so small that the page simply looks messy. Despite these limitations, the book is to be highly recommended as a concise and clear introduction to, and comprehensive summary of, the applications of NMR to solids. W.S.B.
BOOK
REVIEWS
references to related topics as well as an excellent selection of key literature references. Everything is well-organized and very clearly explained, the proof has been carefully checked, and the book is very well produced. No scientist concerned with NMR spectroscopy should be without this book. W.S.B. NMR for Liquid Fossil Fuels, Leon&s sterdam, 1987.242 pages. $70.00.
Petrakis and David Allen. Elsevier, Am-
This book is described as Volume 1 in Elsevier’s “Analytical Spectroscopy Library.” The first part is an introduction to NMR for the nonspecialist and includes a brief description of pulse techniques and 2D methods. A few illustrations of liquid fossil fuel spectra are provided. The second part of the book describes the use of various correlations to estimate composition parameters and functional group content for liquid fuels, such as charge stocks and coal extracts, using both proton and carbon- 13 spectroscopy. Listings of Fortran programs for these types of calculation are given in an appendix. The use of compositional analysis to predict physical and thermodynamic properties of the liquids is described. The text material is reproduced from what appears to be justified typewritten copy, and, although the figures are clear enough, the reproduction of the text is so faint that the reader must strain to follow it; indeed some of the characters, such as lowercase “s” and “f”, are consistently defective throughout the book, so that not all the problem can be blamed on the reproduction process. Considering the ratio of price to content, this volume can only be recommended for those working directly in fossil fuel analysis who are not already well-versed in NMR or who wish to make use of the empirical correlations which are presented. W.S.B.
Solid State NMR for Chemists, Cohn A. Fyfe. C.F.C. Press, Guelph, Ontario, 1984.593 pages. $65 Cdn.; $55 U.S. This volume covers solid-state NMR in a broad sense, including applications to abundant nuclei and the use of “wide-line” methods and conventional relaxationtime measurements, as well as the very recent extensions toward higher resolution. Thus, it answers from a broad perspective the question, “What can solid-state NMR do for the chemist?’ The book is carefully organized, clear and easy to read, and provided with many figures and diagrams and extensive lists of references. All sorts of systems are described, from canine achilles tendon to anthracite, from ‘H and r3C to ‘H and “Al, from metal carbonyls to peptides. There are good diagrams of apparatus and many, many spectra. However, there is no focused discussion about how the experimenter should go about choosing parameters when confronted with an instrument, but this is perhaps not to be expected in a book with so broad a point of view.
BOOK REVIEWS
565
There are a few, relatively minor, points which detract from the polished nature of the text. The author vacillates between including mathematical equations as part of the flow of text or simply inserting them somewhere on a page. The name of element number 15 is also spelled at different points with a variable number of letters “0”. The symbol H is used for Hamiltonian and for magnetic field in two successive equations. On page 50, it is stated that “ l/2 = 0.62.” In a number of equations, there is ambiguity concerning how much of the expression belongs in a denominator, a problem analogous to that of whether 1/ 2 J is proportional to J or to 1 /J. Less trivial is the attempt to print a substantial fraction of the text in bold face: so much appears in this type face that the distinction tends to lose its impact and merely be distracting, while at some places the contrast from normal type is so small that the page simply looks messy. Despite these limitations, the book is to be highly recommended as a concise and clear introduction to, and comprehensive summary of, the applications of NMR to solids. W.S.B.