Topics in Organic Chemistry [antikvár]

PREFACE Having included in the manuscript for Advanced Organic Chemistry (1961) most of the topics usually considered in beginning and advanced courses of a general nature, we decided to bring the book to a close while it was still of reasonable length and to omit several special-topic chapters which appeared in Organic Chemistry, 3rd edition (1956). At the time we had no plans for revision of these chapters or for any imminent extension of the Advanced book, but eventually a plan emerged for combining a revision of the 1956 chapters with a supplementation to the 1961 book. The present book is the outcome. Part I includes nine chapters on subjects which are necessarily specialized but which form important parts of the general field. Most of the topics concerned are currently under active investigation. In some cases the situation has changed so much in recent years that chapters had to be rewritten in toto or in large part. The chapter on Steroids was rewritten in narrative style. The chemistry of rubber is transferred to Terpenoids and the chapter on Synthetic Polymers is limited to man-made elastomers, plastics, and resins, arranged according to polymerization mechanisms. Much of the chemistry of dyes is historical and remains unchanged, but modern covalently-bonded dyes were introduced less than a decade ago. The sections of Part I are numbered in extension of those of Advanced for convenience in cross referencing. Thus 31.48 designates the last section of Advanced and 32.1 refers to the first section of the present book. A reference to a specific page of the first book, e.g. 963, is entered as Adv., p. 963. A cross reference to a page within the present book carries no appendage. Part II includes a few corrections to Advanced and a few topics which should have been included originally (adamantane, R and S specification of configuration, etc.). However, most of the entries describe advances reported in the literature since July 1, 1961, the closing date for coverage in Advanced. We have scanned the principal journals for papers which fit into the framework of Advanced and which seem to us significant and interesting, and have included in Part II accounts of the new work as supplements to the material previously published. As a check on the accuracy of our accounts, copies for review were sent to the principal investigator of each research group involved. It is a pleasure to report that the response was unanimous and that the corrections and suggestions were very helpful. We thank the many chemists who contributed in this way to the production of an accurate survey of recent research. We are very much indebted also to the following specialists for reviewing chapters or sections of Part I and presenting invaluable advice: