Chemical structure and bonding. The scope of the series spans the entire Periodic Table and addresses structure and bonding issues associated with all of the elements. It also focuses attention on new and developing areas of modern structural and theoretical chemistry such as nanostructures, molecular electronics, designed molecular solids, surfaces, metal clusters and supramolecular structures. Physical and spectroscopic techniques used to determine, examine and model structures fall within the purview of Structure and Bonding to the extent that the focus is on the scientific results obtained and not on specialist information concerning the techniques themselves. Issues associated with the development of bonding models and generalizations that illuminate the reactivity pathways and rates of chemical processes are also relevant. The individual volumes in the series are thematic. The goal of each volume is to give the reader, whether at a university or in industry, a comprehensive overview of an area where new insights are emerging that are of interest to a larger scientific audience. Thus each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years should be presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. A description of the physical basis of the experimental techniques that have been used to provide the primary data may also be appropriate, if it has not been covered in detail elsewhere. The coverage need not be exhaustive in data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the new principles being developed that will allow the reader, who is not a specialist in the area covered, to understand the data presented. Discussion of possible future research directions in the area is welcomed. Review articles for the individual volumes are invited by the volume editors.

This volume summarises recent developments and possible future directions for small molecule X-ray crystallography. It reviews specific areas of crystallography which are rapidly developing and places them in a historical context. The interdisciplinary nature of the technique is emphasised throughout. It introduces and describes the chemical crystallographic and synchrotron facilities which have been at the cutting edge of the subject in recent decades. The introduction of new computer-based algorithms has proved to be very influential and stimulated and accelerated the growth of new areas of science. The challenges which will arise from the acquisition of ever larger databases are considered and the potential impact of artificial intelligence techniques stressed. Recent advances in the refinement and analysis of X-ray crystal structures are highlighted. In addition the recent developments in time resolved single crystal X-ray crystallography are discussed. Recent years have demonstrated how this technique has provided important mechanistic information on solid-state reactions and complements information from traditional spectroscopic measurements. The volume highlights how the prospect of being able to routinely “watch” chemical processes as they occur provides an exciting possibility for the future. Recent advances in X-ray sources and detectors that have also contributed to the possibility of dynamic single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods are presented. The coupling of crystallography and quantum chemical calculations provides detailed information about electron distributions in crystals and has resulted in a more detailed understanding of chemical bonding. The volume will be of interest to chemists and crystallographers with an interest in the synthesis, characterisation and physical and catalytic properties of solid-state materials. Postgraduate students entering the field will benefit from a historical introduction to the subject and a description of those techniques which are currently used. Since X-ray crystallography is used so widely in modern chemistry it will serve to alert senior chemists to those developments which will become routine in coming decades. It will also be of interest to the broad community of computational chemists who study chemical systems.

The 50 Year Anniversary of the development of electron counting paradigms is celebrated in two volumes of Structure and Bonding. Volume 2 covers applications to metal and metalloid clusters of the transition and post-transition elements

The thesis provides the necessary experimental and analytical tools to unambiguously observe the atomically resolved chemical reactions. A great challenge of modern science has been to directly observe atomic motions during structural transitions, and while this was first achieved through a major advance in electron source brightness, the information content was still limited and new methods for image reconstruction using femtosecond electron diffraction methods were needed. One particular challenge lay in reconciling the innumerable possible nuclear configurations with the observation of chemical reaction mechanisms that reproducibly give the same kind of chemistry for large classes of molecules. The author shows that there is a simple solution that occurs during barrier crossing in which the highly anharmonic potential at that point in nuclear rearrangements couples high- and low-frequency vibrational modes to give highly localized nuclear motions, reducing hundreds of potential degrees of freedom to just a few key modes. Specific examples are given in this thesis, including two photoinduced phase transitions in an organic system, a ring closure reaction, and two direct observations of nuclear reorganization driven by spin transitions. The emerging field of structural dynamics promises to change the way we think about the physics of chemistry and this thesis provides tools to make it happen.

A comprehensive volume on photocatalytic functional materials for environmental remediation As the need for removing large amounts of pollution and contamination in air, soil, and water grows, emerging technologies in the field of environmental remediation are of increasing importance. The use of photocatalysis—a green technology with enormous potential to resolve the issues related to environmental pollution—breaks down toxic organic compounds to mineralized products such as carbon dioxide and water. Due to their high performance, ease of fabrication, long-term stability, and low manufacturing costs, photofunctional materials constructed from nanocomposite materials hold great potential for environmental remediation. Photocatalytic Functional Materials for Environmental Remediation examines the development of high performance photofunctional materials for the treatment of environmental pollutants. This timely volume assembles and reviews a broad range of ideas from leading experts in fields of chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, materials science, and engineering. Precise, up-to-date chapters cover both the fundamentals and applications of photocatalytic functional materials. Semiconductor-metal nanocomposites, layered double hydroxides, metal-organic frameworks, polymer nanocomposites, and other photofunctional materials are examined in applications such as carbon dioxide reduction and organic pollutant degradation. Providing interdisciplinary focus to green technology materials for the treatment of environmental pollutants, this important work: Provides comprehensive coverage of various photocatalytic materials for environmental remediation useful for researchers and developers Encompasses both fundamental concepts and applied technology in the field Focuses on novel design and application of photocatalytic materials used for the removal of environmental contaminates and pollution Offers in-depth examination of highly topical green-technology solutions Presents an interdisciplinary approach to environmental remediation Photocatalytic Functional Materials for Environmental Remediation is a vital resource for researchers, engineers, and graduate students in the multi-disciplinary areas of chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, environmental science, materials science, and engineering related to photocatalytic environmental remediation.

Organic Electronics is a rapidly evolving multidisciplinary research field at the interface between Organic Chemistry and Physics. Organic Electronics is based on the use of the unique optical and electrical properties of π-conjugated materials that range from small molecules to polymers. The wide activity of researchers in Organic Electronics is testament to the fact that its potential is huge and its list of potential applications almost endless. Application of these electronic and optoelectronic devices range from Organic Field Effect Transistors (OFETs) to Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) and Organic Solar Cells (OSCs), sensors, etc. We invited a series of colleagues to contribute to this Special Issue with respect to the aforementioned concepts and keywords. The goal for this Special Issue was to describe the recent developments of this rapidly advancing interdisciplinary research field. We thank all authors for their contributions.

Early Main Group Metal Catalysis gives a comprehensive overview of catalytic reactions in the presence of group 1 and group 2 metals. Chapters are ordered to reaction type, contain educational elements and deal with concepts illustrated by examples that cover the main developments. After a short introduction on polar organometallic chemistry and synthesis of early main group metal complexes, a variety of catalytic reactions are described, e.g. polymerization of alkenes, hydroamination and phosphination reactions, hydrosilylation, hydroboration and hydrogenation catalysis, as well as enantioselective and Lewis-acid catalysis. The book addresses organic chemists and researchers in industry interested in the state-of-the-art and new possibilities of early main group metal catalysis as well as newcomers to the field. Written by a team of leaders in the field, it is a very welcome addition to the area of main group metal chemistry, and to the field of catalysis.