Topics in F-Element Chemistry – Serie

The history of the rare earths has entered its third century; trans uranium elements are now a half century old. Both the lanthanide and actinide ele- ments, 30 elements altogether, are f elements, meaninj that their metallic 2 1 1 electronic configurations are typically 6s 5d 4f" and 7s 6d 5f" respectively. To an elementary approximation as summarized in the 'average inorganic chemistry textbook, these configurations cause their chemistry to be described by the trivalent state accompanied by less interesting effects such as the lanthanide contraction. However, the discovery of divalent and tetravalent lanthanides and di- to seven-valent actinides hinted at the existence of more interesting although still classic solid-state and coor- dination chemistry. Metallic halides and chalcogenides and electron-poor cluster compounds have been the outgrowth of many synthetic efforts during the past 25 years or so. These days, one can say that the lan- thanides and actinides are not at all boring; the fascination arises from every element being an individual, having its own chemistry.

This volume contains a description of the synthesis, structure, physicochemical and catalytic properties of organometallic complexes of yttrium, scandium, lanthanum and lanthanoids. Along with the true organometallics, the alcoholates, thiolates, amides and similar classes of compounds are considered. The last section of the book deals with practical applications of organic derivatives of rare earth elements. The book contains a large number of tables and illustrations giving physicochemical, spectral and structural characteristics or organoderivatives of lanthanoids. The comprehensive data presented obviate the need to refer to original publications.

The papers included in this volume were presented at the symposium on "Americium and Curium Chemistry and Technology" at the International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies in Honolulu, Hawaii, December 16-21, 1984. This symposium commemorated forty years of research on americium and curium. Accordingly, the papers included in this volume begin with historical perspectives on the discovery of americium and curium and the early characterization of their chemical properties, and then cover a wide range of subjects, such as thermodynamic properties, electronic structure, nuclear reactions, analytic chemistry, high pressure phase transitions, and technological aspects. Thus, this volume is a review of the chemistry of americium and curium, and provides a perspective on the current research on these elements forty years after their discovery. The editors would like to thank the participants in this symposium for their contributions. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the assistance of Ms. Barbara Moriguchi in handling the administrative aspects of the symposium and of the production of this volume. April 2, 1985 Norman M. Edelstein Materials and Molecular Research Division Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory University of California Berkeley, California 94720, U.S.A. James D. Navratil Rockwell International Rocky Flats Plant P.O. Box 464 Golden, Colorado 80402-0464, U.S.A. Wallace W. Schulz Rockwell Hanford P.O. Box 800 Richland, Washington 99352, U.S.A.

The present book is based on the work of M.N.Bochkarev, G.S.Kalinina, L.N. zakharov and S.Ya.Khorshev. The Russian edition of that book appeared under the same title in 1989 and covered literature data up to the middle of 1986. Since that time the number of publications on this subject increased significantly. In this volume we include all the data published up to the end of 1990, as well as some of the most important relevant articles of 1991. Therefore, this book should be considered as a new book, devoted to the same problems, rather than as just a translation of the mentioned issue. This book deals with compounds of scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and lanthanoids containing direct metal-carbon bond, Le. with the real organometallic complexes of these metals. Besides, the volume includes the rare earth complexes, in which organic ligand is bonded to the metal atom via the atom of another element of the Periodic Table. In other words, the book includes all classes of rare earth organoderivatives. Carboxilates, fl-diketonates and related chelates are the exceptions, because their properties are closer to inorganic compounds and they were fully described elsewhere. It should be noted, that "rare earth elements", "rare earth metals", "lanthanoids" and related terms are used in this book for indicating scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and the following 14 elements of the Periodic Table.

The history of the rare earths has entered its third century; trans uranium elements are now a half century old. Both the lanthanide and actinide ele- ments, 30 elements altogether, are f elements, meaninj that their metallic 2 1 1 electronic configurations are typically 6s 5d 4f" and 7s 6d 5f" respectively. To an elementary approximation as summarized in the 'average inorganic chemistry textbook, these configurations cause their chemistry to be described by the trivalent state accompanied by less interesting effects such as the lanthanide contraction. However, the discovery of divalent and tetravalent lanthanides and di- to seven-valent actinides hinted at the existence of more interesting although still classic solid-state and coor- dination chemistry. Metallic halides and chalcogenides and electron-poor cluster compounds have been the outgrowth of many synthetic efforts during the past 25 years or so. These days, one can say that the lan- thanides and actinides are not at all boring; the fascination arises from every element being an individual, having its own chemistry.