The Plenum Press series, Monographs in Inorganic Chemistry, is intended to fill an obvious need for high-level surveys of recent research in that area, particularly in matters which go beyond the traditional or classical bound aries of the subject. The study of n-bonding of hydrocarbon groups (and their derivatives) to metals is exactly that kind of subject, for it provides a new way of understanding the behavior of metals (which constitute four-fifths of all the chemical elements). In addition, n-bonding has expanded the intriguing area of organometallic chemistry threefold, bringing in all the transition metals, the lanthanides, and the actinides. So much has been discovered and developed in the area of n-bonded "complexes" of the metals that important new industrial processes based on such substances have been developed. A truly comprehensive review of all n-bonded compounds of the metals would now result in an impossibly large and expensive volume, and would require monthly revision. Instead, the present authors have wisely decided to write a survey which outlines the general aspects of preparation, properties, structure, reactions, and uses of such compounds-a survey which can serve as a textbook, but which can also lead the more experienced practitioner to the most advanced literature on the subject. They have clarified and condensed the subject by means of good organization and a liberal use of diagrams-features which will please the general reader.

At the heart of coordination chemistry lies the coordinate bond, in its simplest sense arising from donation of a pair of electrons from a donor atom to an empty orbital on a central metalloid or metal. Metals overwhelmingly exist as their cations, but these are rarely met ‘naked’ – they are clothed in an array of other atoms, molecules or ions that involve coordinate covalent bonds (hence the name coordination compounds). These metal ion complexes are ubiquitous in nature, and are central to an array of natural and synthetic reactions. Written in a highly readable, descriptive and accessible style Introduction to Coordination Chemistry describes properties of coordination compounds such as colour, magnetism and reactivity as well as the logic in their assembly and nomenclature. It is illustrated with many examples of the importance of coordination chemistry in real life, and includes extensive references and a bibliography. Introduction to Coordination Chemistry is a comprehensive and insightful discussion of one of the primary fields of study in Inorganic Chemistry for both undergraduate and non-specialist readers.

Edwin C. Constable Metals and Ligand Reactivity An Introduction to the Organic Chemistry of Metal Complexes New, revised and expanded edition This book is a highly readable introduction to the reactions of coordinated ligands, which have become a useful tool in organic synthesis. Bridging the gap between the traditional fields, this text presents the basic concepts of ligand reactivity as well as synthetic applications of these reactions. Topics covered include Principles of metal-ligand interaction Reactions of coordinated ligands with nucleophiles and electrophiles Oxidation and reduction of coordinated ligands Cyclic and encapsulating ligands, template effects and supramolecular chemistry Carefully selected examples, lucidly designed figures and schemes as well as numerous study problems make this book an ideal guide for students and practitioners of organic synthesis. References to further reading are also included.

Stability constants are fundamental to understanding the behavior of metal ions in aqueous solution. Such understanding is important in a wide variety of areas, such as metal ions in biology, biomedical applications, metal ions in the environment, extraction metallurgy, food chemistry, and metal ions in many industrial processes. In spite of this importance, it appears that many inorganic chemists have lost an appreciation for the importance of stability constants, and the thermodynamic aspects of complex formation, with attention focused over the last thirty years on newer areas, such as organometallic chemistry. This book is an attempt to show the richness of chemistry that can be revealed by stability constants, when measured as part of an overall strategy aimed at understanding the complexing properties of a particular ligand or metal ion. Thus, for example, there are numerous crystal structures of the Li+ ion with crown ethers. What do these indicate to us about the chemistry of Li+ with crown ethers? In fact, most of these crystal structures are in a sense misleading, in that the Li+ ion forms no complexes, or at best very weak complexes, with familiar crown ethers such as l2-crown-4, in any known solvent. Thus, without the stability constants, our understanding of the chemistry of a metal ion with any particular ligand must be regarded as incomplete. In this book we attempt to show how stability constants can reveal factors in ligand design which could not readily be deduced from any other physical technique.