This invaluable book distils the research accomplishments of Professor Fred Basolo during the five decades when he served as a world leader in the modern renaissance of inorganic chemistry. Its primary focus is on the very important area of chemistry known as coordination chemistry.Most of the elements in the periodic table are metals, and most of the chemistry of metals involves coordination chemistry. This is the case in the currently significant areas of research, including organometallic homogenous catalysis, biological reactions of metalloproteins, and even the solid state extended structures of new materials. In these systems, the metals are of primary importance because they are the sites of ligand substitution or redox reactions. In the solid materials, the coordination number of the metal and its stereochemistry are of major importance.Some fifty years of research on transition metal complexes carried out in the laboratory of Professor Basolo at Northwestern University is recorded here as selected scientific publications. The book is divided into three different major research areas, each dealing with some aspect of coordination chemistry. In each case, introductory remarks are presented which indicate what prompted the research projects and what the major accomplishments were. Although the research was of the academic, curiosity-driven type, some aspects have proven to be useful to others involved in projects that were much more applied in nature.

This book focuses on the electronic properties of transition metals in coordination environments. These properties are responsible for the unique and intricate activity of transition metal sites in bio- and inorganic catalysis, but also pose challenges for both theoretical and experimental studies. Written by an international group of recognized experts, the book reviews recent advances in computational modeling and discusses their interplay using experiments. It covers a broad range of topics, including advanced computational methods for transition metal systems; spectroscopic, electrochemical and catalytic properties of transition metals in coordination environments; metalloenzymes and biomimetic compounds; and spin-related phenomena. As such, the book offers an invaluable resource for all researchers and postgraduate students interested in both fundamental and application-oriented research in the field of transition metal systems.

Compounds of the Transition Elements Involving Metal-Metal Bonds focuses on compounds of the transition elements involving metal-metal bonds. Emphasis is on metal-metal bonds in coordination compounds and organometallic complexes, halides, and oxides. Factors that influence the formation, stability, and properties of such compounds, as well as their application in various fields of chemistry and physics, are discussed. This book is divided into four sections and begins with a classification of metal-metal bonds and some of the physical and chemical methods used to study them, including X-ray crystallography, magnetic susceptibility and electron spin resonance, nuclear spin resonance, Mössbauer measurements, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, visible and ultraviolet spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, electrical conductivity, electrochemistry, and chemical reactivity. Factors influencing the strength of metal-metal bonds in metals and compounds are also examined. The remaining sections deal with metal-metal bonds in coordination compounds and organometallic complexes, halides, and oxides. This monograph will be a useful resource for inorganic chemists.

This second edition offers easy access to the field of organotransition metal chemistry. The book covers the basics of transition metal chemistry, giving a practical introduction to organotransition reaction mechanisms.