The present volume finalizes the coverage of organocopper compounds. A complete formula and ligand index for the Gmelin organocopper series will appear shortly as" Organa copper Compounds" 5. The volume describes mononuclear compounds with ligands bonded by two or more carbon atoms as well as all di- to octanuclear and polymeric compounds. Mononuclear compounds with ligands bonded by one carbon atom have already been described in Vol umes 1 (published in 1985), 2 (published in 1983), and 3 (published in 1986). As structural elucidation in organocopper chemistry gained more attention only in the last few years, the terms "mononuclear", "dinuclear" etc. have been used as explained in "Organocopper Compounds" 1, 1985, pp. 3/4: all compounds are treated with their small est formula unit unless a higher nuclearity has been proved. As a consequence, most of the species treated in volumes 1 to 3 are described there because of insufficient structural information although they are alleged not to be monomeric. This way, many of the better characterized compounds appear in the present volume which is reflected by the more than eighty X-ray structure figures. Generally, nuclearity and structure are not only deter mined by the coordination properties of the ligands, but also by steric requirements, and may therefore widely differ for analogous compounds. For abbreviations and dimensions used throughout this volume, see p. X. Frankfurt am Main, July 1987 Johannes Fussel Remarks on Abbreviations and Dimensions Most compounds and reagents in this volume are presented in tables.
