R. Bruce King - Böcker

Over the past several decades there have been major advances in our ability to computationally evaluate the electronic structure of inorganic molecules, particularly transition metal systems. This advancement is due to the Moore’s Law increase in computing power as well as the impact of density functional theory (DFT) and its implementation in commercial and freeware programs for quantum chemical calculations. Improved pure and hybrid density functionals are allowing DFT calculations with accuracy comparable to high-level Hartree-Fock treatments, and the results of these calculations can now be evaluated by experiment. When calculations are correlated to, and supported by, experimental data they can provide fundamental insight into electronic structure and its contributions to physical properties and chemical reactivity. This interplay continues to expand and contributes to both improved value of experimental results and improved accuracy of computational predictions.The purpose of this EIC Book is to provide state-of-the-art presentations of quantum mechanical and related methods and their applications, written by many of the leaders in the field. Part 1 of this volume focuses on methods, their background and implementation, and their use in describing bonding properties, energies, transition states and spectroscopic features. Part 2 focuses on applications in bioinorganic chemistry and Part 3 discusses inorganic chemistry, where electronic structure calculations have already had a major impact. This addition to the EIC Book series is of significant value to both experimentalists and theoreticians, and we anticipate that it will stimulate both further development of the methodology and its applications in the many interdisciplinary fields that comprise modern inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry.This volume is also available as part of Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, 5 Volume Set.This set combines all volumes published as EIC Books from 2007 to 2010, representing areas of key developments in the field of inorganic chemistry published in the Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry. Find out more.

Dr. King has won several awards and honors, including Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry, Nato Senior Fellowship, and American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry. His book provides a summary of the most important aspects of the descriptive inorganic chemistry of the main group elements, namely all of the elements except for the d-block transition metals. Organized by element, making it easy to assimilate the important aspects of the chemistry of a particular element, many structural diagrams and chemical equations are given to illustrate structures and chemical reactions making this the first source of general information research workers will turn to. Many chapters include the following: a summary of the typical coordination number, oxidation states, bonding types, etc. found in the elements covered; important properties of the free elements including a discussion of allotropic forms; discussions of halides, oxides, oxyacids, organimetallic derivatives, and other compound types in separate sections.

One of the landmarks in the history of mathematics is the proof of the nonex- tence of algorithms based solely on radicals and elementary arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) for solutions of general al- braic equations of degrees higher than four. This proof by the French mathema- cian Evariste Galois in the early nineteenth century used the then novel concept of the permutation symmetry of the roots of algebraic equations and led to the invention of group theory, an area of mathematics now nearly two centuries old that has had extensive applications in the physical sciences in recent decades. The radical-based algorithms for solutions of general algebraic equations of degrees 2 (quadratic equations), 3 (cubic equations), and 4 (quartic equations) have been well-known for a number of centuries. The quadratic equation algorithm uses a single square root, the cubic equation algorithm uses a square root inside a cube root, and the quartic equation algorithm combines the cubic and quadratic equation algorithms with no new features. The details of the formulas for these equations of degree d(d = 2,3,4) relate to the properties of the corresponding symmetric groups Sd which are isomorphic to the symmetries of the equilateral triangle for d = 3 and the regular tetrahedron for d — 4.

The intense current interest in the development of solar energy as a viable energy alternative comes as no surprise in view of the widespread awareness of impending world-wide energy shortages. After all, the magnitude of energy available from the sun is impressive, its diffuseness and intermittent nature notwithstanding. The fact that, as a source, it represents a constant and inex­ haustible supply of energy is alluring. The fact that most solar application schemes are nonpolluting in nature is an attractive bonus. In spite of these impressive attributes, research and development in the area of solar energy is in its infancy, owing largely to the prior lack of any need to exploit such diffuse sources. Indeed efforts in this area have traditionally been within the province of solid-state physics and engineering. The problems associated with efficient light harvesting and storage, however, are not simply technological ones. Effec­ tive solutions to these problems appear to lie beyond the current forefront of the chemical sciences. Consequently input fr9m scientists previously engaged in fundamental chemistry has begun to emerge. Thus many of the contributions in this volume represent input from research groups with a relatively short history of involvement in solar energy. On the other hand, the long-standing and perceptive commitment of Professor Melvin Calvin to research involving solar energy represents the other extreme. This volume covers a variety of approaches to the problem of efficiently converting and storing solar energy.