An Introduction to Organometallic Compounds

The goal of this volume is to provide (1) an introduction to the basic principles of electrochemistry (Chapter 1), potentiometry (Chapter 2), voltammetry (Chapter 3), and electrochemical titrations (Chapter 4) (2) a practical, up-to-date summary of indicator electrodes (Chapter 5), electrochemical cells and instrumentation (Chapter 6), and solvents and electrolytes (Chapter 7) and (3) illustrative examples of molecular characterization (via electrochemical measurements) of hydronium ion, Br0nsted acids, and H2 (Chapter 8) dioxygen species (02, OJ/HOO-, HOOH) and H20/H0 (Chapter 9) metals, metal compounds, and metal complexes (Chapter 10) nonmetals (Chapter 11) carbon compounds (Chapter 12) and organometallic compounds and metallopor-phyrins (Chapter 13). The later chapters contain specific characterizations of representative molecules within a class, which we hope will reduce the barriers of unfamiliarity and encourage the reader to make use of electrochemistry for related chemical systems. 

A20. J. C. Bailar, H. J. meI6us, R. S. Nyholm, and A. F. Trotman-Dickenson, Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry. Pergamon, Oxford, 1973, 5 vols. Volume 1 has a short chapter by M. L. H. Green, An introduction to the organic chemistry of the metallic elements. Organometallic compounds are discussed in several other chapters in Vols. 1 and 2, which deal with Main Group elements. 

Chapter 12 serves as an introduction to a huge area of chemistry devoted to the use of organometallic compounds for the construction of complex molecules. The material covered in Chapter 12 exemplifies several of the most important applications of organotransition metal chemistry to organic synthesis. Thousands of articles have appeared over the past 10 years that report on either the use of transition metal compounds in key steps of syntheses, which would be difficult or even impossible to carry out without transition metals, or on the development of novel methodology that may have many applications to synthesis down the road. Research on the connection between organometallic chemistry and synthesis remains active and fruitful, and there is every indication that this endeavor will continue to hold the interest of chemists for many years to come. 

Organometallic chemistry of the s- and p-block elements was described in Chapter 18, and we now extend the discussion to organometallic compounds containing J-block metals. This topic covers a huge area of chemistry, and we can only provide an introduction to it, emphasizing the fundamental families of complexes and reactions. 

In recent years, the widespread introduction of high-resolution instruments has made mass spectrometry a routine tool of the same utility in organic chemistry as IR or NMR spectroscopy. However, it is only within the last year or two that systematic investigations into the behavior of organometallic compounds in the mass spectrometer have started to be reported. This review is an attempt to summarize many of the results obtained. 

Methods for the analysis of organic and organometallic compounds are discussed in this chapter. It has become evident that for the analysis of these two classes of compounds, the analyst can draw on a very similar repertoire of analytical techniques with respect to sample preparation, separation, and detection. Chromatographic and, in particular, hyphenated techniques are the workhorses of environmental water analysis. The various formats and technical realizations of mass spectrometers are the most versatile detectors. Their sensitivity and ability to provide structural information at the low and even sub-pg level are an asset and at the same time a prerequisite for (ultra)trace analysis in the aquatic environment. As further significant improvements in detector sensitivity are unlikely, the probable focus of attention in the future will again be on sample preparation. Here, the introduction of new approaches, techniques, and materials for sample preparation can be expected to make a significant impact in this field. 

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