Inorganic Chemistry

Citation

Shriver, D., Weller, M., Overton, T., Armstrong, F., & Rourke, J. (2014). Inorganic Chemistry (6th ed.). W. H. Freeman and Company.

Chapter Summary

The sixth edition runs to 830 pages in three parts: Foundations (eight chapters), The Elements and their Compounds (fifteen chapters) and Frontiers (four chapters). Six resource sections at the back collect ionic radii, electronic properties of the elements, standard potentials, character tables, symmetry-adapted orbitals and Tanabe–Sugano diagrams, followed by answers to exercises and indexes. The publisher describes the book as covering both theoretical and descriptive inorganic chemistry, with a focus on experimental methods, industrial applications and cutting-edge topics.

Part 1, Chapters 1–5: Atomic structure; Molecular structure and bonding; The structures of simple solids; Acids and bases; Oxidation and reduction

The foundation chapters cover atoms, the bonding in molecules, the structures of simple solids, acid–base concepts and redox chemistry, the ideas used in the descriptive chapters.

Part 1, Chapters 6–8: Molecular symmetry; An introduction to coordination compounds; Physical techniques in inorganic chemistry

Symmetry is treated after solids, acids and bases and redox, followed by a first look at coordination compounds and the physical techniques used to characterise inorganic compounds.

Part 2, Chapters 9–10: Periodic trends; Hydrogen

The second part opens with trends across the periodic table, then turns to hydrogen.

Part 2, Chapters 11–18: The Group 1 elements through The Group 18 elements

The Group 1 elements (11); The Group 2 elements (12); The Group 13 elements (13); The Group 14 elements (14); The Group 15 elements (15); The Group 16 elements (16); The Group 17 elements (17); The Group 18 elements (18). The main-group elements are taken one group per chapter, group by group.

Part 2, Chapters 19–23: The d-block elements; d-Metal complexes: electronic structure and properties; Coordination chemistry: reactions of complexes; d-Metal organometallic chemistry; The f-block metals

The d-block elements are covered in four chapters (elements, electronic structure and properties of complexes, reactions of complexes, organometallic chemistry), with the f-block metals last.

Part 3: Frontiers: Materials chemistry and nanomaterials; Catalysis; Biological inorganic chemistry; Inorganic chemistry in medicine

Four chapters on materials and nanomaterials, catalysis, biological inorganic chemistry and inorganic chemistry in medicine. (The retrieved publisher listing numbers these chapters inconsistently, so their numbers are not given here.)

Key Concepts

Part 1: Foundations

• Atomic structure and molecular structure and bonding, as the first two chapters.
• Simple solids: the structures of simple solids, the subject of Chapter 3.
• Acids and bases and oxidation and reduction as organising ideas for later chemistry.
• Molecular symmetry and physical techniques, with character tables and symmetry-adapted orbitals in the resource sections.

Part 2: The Elements and their Compounds

• Periodic trends, treated before the group chapters.
• Group-by-group descriptive chemistry of the main-group elements.
• d-Metal complexes: electronic structure and properties, supported by Tanabe–Sugano diagrams in the resource sections.
• Reactions of complexes and d-metal organometallic chemistry.

Part 3: Frontiers

• Materials chemistry and nanomaterials.
• Catalysis.
• Biological inorganic chemistry and inorganic chemistry in medicine.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Principles and descriptive chemistry in one book. The publisher presents it as covering theoretical and descriptive aspects together, and the three-part structure supports this: foundations, a systematic tour of the elements, and frontier topics.
• Frontiers part. Materials and nanomaterials, catalysis, biological inorganic chemistry and inorganic chemistry in medicine each have a chapter, matching the publisher's emphasis on industrial applications and cutting-edge topics.
• Useful reference sections. The six resource sections (ionic radii, electronic properties, standard potentials, character tables, symmetry-adapted orbitals, Tanabe–Sugano diagrams) are lookup tables to use while working problems.
• Systematic organisation of the elements. One chapter per group for hydrogen and Groups 1, 2 and 13–18, preceded by periodic trends, helps students locate material.

Limitations

• Size. At 830 pages it is a large book for a single course, and the coverage of the d-block (four chapters), hydrogen and the main groups (nine chapters) and frontiers means that a course must choose.
• Symmetry comes after other foundations. Molecular symmetry is Chapter 6, after solids, acids and bases and redox, so students taking a bonding-first course need to read it earlier than its position.
• One chapter on d-metal organometallic chemistry. Organometallic compounds appear in Chapter 22 for the d-block; Housecroft's contents, by comparison, give separate chapters to s- and p-block and d-block organometallic compounds.

Where It Fits in the Course

Shriver et al. is one of two comprehensive physical-inorganic textbooks in this list, the other being Catherine Housecroft's Inorganic Chemistry (sixth edition), which is arranged as basic concepts, group-by-group chemistry and then d-block, organometallic and applied chapters. The two overlap strongly; Housecroft introduces molecular symmetry early (Chapter 3), whereas Shriver treats it as the sixth chapter, and Shriver ends with a frontiers part rather than a series of topic chapters. Either can serve as the main text.

Rayner-Canham and Overton's Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry is an introductory text that surveys the elements group by group after the principles. Scerri's The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction is a short companion for periodic trends. Pfennig's Principles of Inorganic Chemistry develops symmetry, group theory and molecular-orbital models, and Crabtree's The Organometallic Chemistry of the Transition Metals is a graduate text on the subject of Shriver's chapter on d-metal organometallic chemistry.

How to Use This Book

The publisher presents the book as an introduction to inorganic chemistry covering both theoretical and descriptive aspects, and does not list prerequisites; general chemistry with some bonding theory is the natural background.

A practical plan: read Part 1 in order (Chapters 1–8), then move through Part 2, starting with Chapter 9 on periodic trends and using the group chapters (11–18) selectively according to the syllabus. Coordination chemistry is spread over Chapters 7, 20 and 21, which are best read together with the resource sections. Part 3 is four separate topic chapters, which can be chosen according to interest. Use the resource sections as lookup tools while working the exercises, and check your answers at the back.