Coordination Compounds

by S. F. A. Kettle

Published November 1969
There is at present no textbook which attempts an integration between the factual and theoretical aspects of coordination chemistry except at the very elementary level. The need for such a book has increased as the general theoretical background presented in major inorganic texts has diminished. This present text aims to redress this deficiency. Particularly noteworthy of this work is the attempt to present theoretical aspects of the subject in a readable, and thus non-mathematical, accurate and comprehensive manner. The author adopts the approach of exploiting symmetry to the limit; although an elementary knowledge of group theory would be considered an advantage in reading this text, it is not essential as a very readable introduction to the subject is provided. The author is co-author of two texts on theoretical chemistry and sole author of one on group theory. This text is illustrated with diagrams that enhance and explain features reviewed in the text and each chapter contains a question and answer section for students and lists for further reading.
Areas covered within the text include: Typical ligands, typical complexes; Nomenclature and geometrical structure of coordination compounds; Preparation of coordination compounds; Stability of coordination compounds; The crystal field theory of transition metal complexes; The ligand field theory of transition metal complexes; Magnetic properties of transition metal complexes; Organometallic complexes; f-electron systems, the lanthanides and actinides; Other methods of studying coordination compounds; Thermodynamic and related aspects of crystal fields.