Subject Guide
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010
cfhuber@ucsb.edu
Locating Books
To locate books on your topic, use the UC Library Search.. 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.
General Reference Works
"Comprehensive" Chemistry Series
These sets from Pergamon Press/Elsevier 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 Coordination Chemistry by Call Number: Reference ; QD474 .C65 1987ISBN: 9780080262321Publication Date: 1987-12-01
Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II by Call Number: Reference ; QD474 .C65 2004ISBN: 0080913164Publication Date: 2003-12-03
Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry by Call Number: Reference ; QD151.2 .C64ISBN: 9780080172750Publication Date: 1973-01-01
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry by Call Number: Reference ; QD411 .C65 1982ISBN: 9780080252698Publication Date: 1982-11-01
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry II by Call Number: Reference ; QD411 .C652 1995ISBN: 0080406084Publication Date: 1995-09-29
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry III by Call Number: QD411 .C653 2007ISBN: 9780080445908Publication Date: 2006-11-23
Comprehensive Supramolecular Chemistry by Call Number: Reference ; QD411 .C66 1996ISBN: 0080406106Publication Date: 1996-07-16
- Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology This link opens in a new windowCommonly referred to as "Kirk-Othmer" after its original editors, this encyclopedia 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. Articles are selectively updated on a regular basis.
Encyclopedia of Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry by ISBN: 9781119951438Publication Date: 2012-02-01
Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals by Call Number: Reference ; QD155.5 .P37 2003ISBN: 9780070494398Publication Date: 2002-11-20
Handbook of Zeolite Science and Technology by Call Number: Reference ; TP159.M6 H35 2003ISBN: 9780824740207Publication Date: 2003-07-31
- Knovel.com This link opens in a new windowKnovel provides electronic versions of an extensive collection of reference works in chemistry, including several for inorganicl chemistry. Data tables are numerically searchable, and some titles provide interactive tables, graphs and equations.
The Porphyrin Handbook by Call Number: Reference ; QP671.P6 P67 2000ISBN: 0123932211Publication Date: 2006-05-23
- Reaxys This link opens in a new window
Indexes millions of chemical substances (organic, inorganic and organometallic) and chemical reactions, providing chemical and physical property information. Combines the Beilstein Handbook for Organic Chemistry, the Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, and the Elsevier Patent Chemistry Database. Searchable by text keywords, numerical physical and chemical properties, and by chemical structures and substructures.
Physical Properties
- WebElementsWebElements 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 link opens in a new windowCHEMnetBASE is an electronic collection of several major reference works for chemistry and related sciences from Chapman and Hall/CRC Press. Each work is searchable separately. They include:
Combined Chemical Dictionary, including of:Dictionary of Inorganic and Organometallic Compounds
* Dictionary of Natural Products
* Dictionary of Analytical Reagents
Dictionary of Commonly Cited Compounds
The Handbook of Chemistry & Physics
The Combined Chemical Dictionary is fully sub-structure searchable as is Properties of Organic Compounds. (Note: Structure searching requires a free browser plug-in, which may not yet be installed on UCSB Library workstations.) The Handbook of Chemistry & Physics and Polymers, A Property Database are fully searchable and offer the ability to produce tables customized to the user's preferences.
- Cambridge Structural Database (Web CSD)Produced by the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, the Cambridge Structural Database is the world's repository of experimentally determined organic and metal-organic crystal structures, with over 500,000 structures. The WebCSD interface allow for text and numerical searching, substructure searching, similarity searching, and reduced cell seaching of the database. It can display structures in a variety of visualization formats. WebCSD is paid for by the UCSB Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; students in that department may contact departmental IT support for information on downloading additional CSD software.
Spectra: For Spectra sources, see the appropriate section of the General Chemistry guide. Note that spectra for inorganic and organometallic compounds are much less commonly available than for organic compounds.
Synthetic Methods
- Inorganic SynthesesReference 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. The online version is keyword searchable across the entire series; while UCSB does not currently have access to the full text online, the online site can conveniently be used as an index to locate articles in the print version.
- Science of Synthesis This link opens in a new window
Compendium of synthetic methods for organic and organometallic chemistry. Browsable by table of contents, and searchable by keyword, by structure, or by substructure. Includes the electronic backfile (Houben-Weyl Archive) providing immediate access to hundreds of thousands of product specific experimental procedures, structures, and references in all fields of synthetic organic chemistry - dating back to the early 1800s.
Locating Articles
- SciFinder This link opens in a new window
New user? You must register for an account. Go to the SciFinder Registration Information page to begin. Commercial use of your University account is strictly prohibited. Searches Chemical Abstracts Service databases, including chemical substances, chemical reactions, chemical suppliers and references, with one of the largest collections in each area. Also provides unique full text access to a large collection of chemical patents via its PatentPak feature.
- Reaxys This link opens in a new window
Indexes millions of chemical substances (organic, inorganic and organometallic) and chemical reactions, providing chemical and physical property information. Combines the Beilstein Handbook for Organic Chemistry, the Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, and the Elsevier Patent Chemistry Database. Searchable by text keywords, numerical physical and chemical properties, and by chemical structures and substructures.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Covers thousands of research journals, and extensive collections of conference proceedings and books across hundreds of disciplines.