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Inorganic Chemistry
| SEL Reference Guide:
Inorganic Chemistry
Selected Starting Points, Davidson Library, UCSB
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Other Chemistry SEL Reference Guides:
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General Overview Works | Physical Properties | Synthetic Methods
Locating Articles | Internet Resources
Locating Books
To locate books on your topic, use the PEGASUS Online Catalog (http://pegasus.library.ucsb.edu/F/). As a starting point, use a subject search on the applicable broad subject terms. For a particular chemical element use the element name. Some classes of compounds (porphyrins, fullerenes) have their own subject headings. For the most general classes of inorganic chemistry, use chemistry, inorganic or inorganic compounds; organometallic chemistry or organometallic compounds; coordination chemistry. Don't try to get too specific in a subject search - the Library of Congress subject headings do not go into great depth in chemical terminology.
If you can't find anything useful with a subject search, try a keyword search on your terms. Keyword searching searches both book titles and subject headings, and, for recent works, may also search chapter titles. If you find a relevant record, check its subject headings to see if there is alternative terminology you should try. Browsing a call number range can also be helpful: Classic inorganic chemistry is found in QD 146-197; organometallic chemistry in QD 410-412.5 and physical inorganic chemistry at QD 475.
CHEMLIBnetBASE (http://www.chemlibnetbase.com)
CHEMLIBnetBASE is a collection of texts from Taylor & Francis/CRC Press in full-text electronic form,
including over a dozen titles in inorganic and materials chemistry.
"Comprehensive" Chemistry Series
Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 474 .C65 1987)
Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II (SEL Ref QD 474 .C65 2004)
Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 151.2 .C64)
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 411 .C65 1982)
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry II (SEL Ref QD411 .C652 1995)
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry III (SEL Ref QD411 .C653 2007)
Comprehensive Supramolecular Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 411 .C66 1996)
These sets from Pergamon Press contain excellent review articles on various aspects of their respective subjects, and make good starting points for new research. The oldest of these, Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, is becoming somewhat dated, but is still useful. Each set is organized into volumes on broad subject areas; it's best to consult the subject indexes to locate your topic. Most of the sets also have an excellent molecular formula index.
Comprehensive Treatise on Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 31 .M4)
Commonly referred to as "Mellor's" after its original editor, this set is old even in its most recent supplements, but is still a very useful one-stop source for classical inorganic chemistry of the elements. It is organized by periodic groups.
Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/kirk/)
In print at (TP 9 .E685 SEL SEL Ref Area)
Commonly referred to as "Kirk-Othmer" after its original editors, this series of encyclopedias has good overview articles on substances of commercial importance. It does not go into depth on laboratory methods, but there is frequently useful property information, and the articles are very well referenced. The Fourth Edition (started 1991) is recently completed.
Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD148 .E53 1994)
This is a fairly new work, containing a mixture of short "definition" articles with longer review articles by noted authors; the articles have good bibliographies. It covers inorganic, bioinorganic, organometallic and coordination chemistry. The encyclopedia is organized alphabetically, with a thematic list in the foreword, a subject index and list of contributors.
Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals SEL Ref QD 155.5 .P37 2003
Physical properties, uses and preparations for 2,000 of the most common industrial chemicals.
Handbook of Zeolite Science and Technology SEL Ref TP 159 .M6 H35 2003
This one volume has chapters by experts on various aspects of synthesis and structure, characterization, host-guest chemistry and applications of zeolites.
Porphyrin Handbook SEL Ref QP 671 .P6 P67 2000
Very up-to-date and comprehensive ten-volume work on the organic and organometallic chemistry and biochemistry of porphyrins.
Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Orgamometallic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 151 .G52)
This is the most comprehensive source of information in inorganic chemistry. Begun in 1817 by Leopold Gmelin, it went through seven editions before the current on began in 1924. Originally focused on classic inorganic chemistry; organometallic was recently added to the title to reflect the vast growth of the latter field. Gmelin is strong on both tabulated property data and descriptive information on compounds and reactions.
Gmelin publishes volumes entirely according to editorial choice, reflecting mainly the volume of research in a given area since the last such volume. Gmelin does not attempt to cover chronological periods in a block. Each volume is devoted to a particular aspect of the chemistry of a single element, with a specified closing date. Examples:
- Magnesium has had eight volumes published -- none since 1952.
- Iron has had over 30 volumes on its organometallic chemistry since 1974, with eleven volumes on ferrocenes alone!
- Uranium has special volumes on nuclear fuel behavior, extraction and purification.
The Gmelin volumes are organized by "principal element", where, in general, transition metals rank higher than main group metals, which rank higher than nonmetals Examples:
- NaCl -- Sodium is Vol. 21; Chlorine is Vol. 6. Therefore, Vol. 21
- Ferrocene - Carbon is Vol. 14; Hydrogen is Vol. 2; Iron is Vol. 59. Therefore Ferrocene appears in Vol. 59
- (NH4)2Cr2O7 -- Chromium is Vol 52; Ammonium gets its own volume, 23: Oxygen is Vol. 2. Therefore: Vol. 52.
Gmelin has comprehensive formula indexes, in three parts: 1924-74, 1974-79, and 1980-87. Formulas are listed alphabetically using Hill notation. Volumes before 1980 are in German; volumes since 1980 are in English The UCSB Library does not have a complete set of Gmelin, lacking volumes published before 1960 and after 1991. Publication of new volumes ceased a few years ago, but has resumed in electronic form only. An electronic version of the Gmelin Handbook is available as part of CrossFire Beilstein/Gmelin. This version does not contain all of the text of print Gmelin, but has most of the numeric data and reaction references. Note that CrossFire is a client/server product, and the client must be installed on the terminal where you wish to use it. It can be downloaded and installed on any UCSB campus terminal, and is available on certain public workstations in the Davidson Library.
WebElements (http://www.webelements.com/)
WebElements is a hypertext-linked collection of property data on the first
112 elements including (where available): general, chemical, physical,
nuclear, electronic, biological, geological, crystallographic, reduction
potential, isotopic abundances, electronic configurations, ionization
enthalpy data and additional textual information, especially on
the history of the elements.
CHEMnetBASE
This electronic resource includes the content of three print resources listed below.
- CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (QD 65 .H3 SEL SEL Ref Desk)
Probably the most familiar source, the CRC handbook is published annually but usually changes little from one year to the next. It contains a variety of useful physical and chemical data, with some references. Some of the data is given in the main table of inorganic compounds, other data appears in separate tables grouped by data type. Not very systematic in choice of data, and indexing can be inconsistent.
- Dictionary of Inorganic Compounds (SEL Ref QD 148 .D53 1992)
- Dictionary of Organometallic Compounds, 2nd ed. (SEL Ref QD 411 .D53 1995)
Chapman-Hall publishes a variety of "dictionaries" of compounds, including these two sets. They give structure diagrams, basic physical data (on both the compound and significant derivatives), and references for other information (syntheses, spectra, etc.). Alphabetical arrangement; well-indexed, including CAS Registry Numbers.
ChemFinder WebServer http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/
- This database, provided by CambridgeSoft, provides basic physical data and structure diagrams.
- It also has links to websites containing other data for a large number of chemical compounds.
- It is searchable by name, molecular weight, molecular formula,
CAS Registry Number.
Spectra: For Spectra sources, see the appropriate section of the General Chemistry guide.
Inorganic Syntheses (SEL Ref QD 151 .I5)
This is a less-than-annual publication, similar in format to the more famous Organic Syntheses, giving detailed
and tested methods for syntheses, including reaction conditions, yields and safety information. It covers inorganic
and organometallic compounds (including boranes, synthetic metals, ceramic superconductors, etc.)
The series has no collective volumes, but the indexes cumulate every five volumes, and there is a collective index to
volumes 1-30.
Web of Science (Science Citation Index): The Science Citation
Index database in Web of Science covers some 6,000 journals in the sciences. UCSB users have access to the index from
1945-present; for recent years it has searchable abstracts. It also has searchable cited references, so you can track
an older reference on, for instance, a synthetic method forward to more recent applications or to other related records.
It is only available on campus, from ucsb.edu addresses.
Ceramic Abstracts/World Ceramics Abstracts: WCA indexes papers and patents that pertain to the formulation, fabrication and application of ceramics and related materials, including zeolites and other mesoporous materials, aerogels and ceramic superconductors. Contains over 283,000 records, with about 950 new records added monthly from over 300 journals and other sources.
SciFinder Scholar:
SFS is an end-user oriented interface to the Chemical Abstracts Service databases: CAPLUS, REGISTRY, CASREACT,and CHEMCATS.
Its databases cover the entire literature of chemistry, including journal articles, patents, conference
papers and more, from before 1900 to the present, by far the most comprehensive database of the chemical literature.
It may be searched by author, topic, corporate source, chemical name, molecular formula or chemical structure
(including substructures and reaction diagrams).
It is available in two versions:SciFinder Web uses a Web browser interface. Users must first register, using a valid ucsb.edu
e-mail address. It is compatible with the campus proxy server for off campus use. SciFinder Scholar is a client-server system, which requires
installation of the SFS client on the terminal where you wish to use it. The client may be downloaded and installed
on any Windows or Mac computer by a UCSB user. In the UCSB Davidson Library, SciFinder is available at selected
workstations in the Sciences-Engineering Library (2nd floor North).
More and more resources of value to the inorganic chemist are becoming available over the World Wide Web. Some are available free of charge, some are not. You may try using Internet search engines such as Yahoo, Infoseek, Alta Vista, etc.; however, depending on the keywords you choose, you may find nothing, or you may find large amounts of irrelevant material. It can be more effective to seek out sites which are specifically devoted to chemical information. Many such links can be found on the UCSB Library's InfoSurf Chemistry page (http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subjects/chem/chemistr.html).
Author: Chuck Huber (huber@library.ucsb.edu).
Last updated: June 18, 2007
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