Advances in Molecular Structure Research, Volume 4

Preface (M. Hargittai, I. Hargittai). Molecular geometry of "ionic" molecules: a ligand close-packing model (R.J. Gillespie, E.A. Robinson). The terminal alkynes: a versatile model for weak directional interactions in crystals (T. Steiner). Hydrogen bonding systems in acid metal sulfates and selenates (E. Kemnitz, S.I. Troyanov). A crystallographic structure refinement approach using abinitio quality additive fuzzy density fragments (P.G. Mezey). Novel inclusion compounds with urea/thiourea/selenoureaanion host lattices (T.C.W. Mak, Q. Li). Roles of zinc and magnesium ions in enzymes (A. Kaufman Katz, J.P. Glusker). The electronic spectra of ethane and ethylene (C. Sandorfy). Formation of (E,E) and (Z,Z) muconic acid in metabolism of benzene: possible roles of putative 2,3-epoxyoxepins and probes for their detection (A. Greenberg). Some relationships between molecular structure and thermochemistry: part 2 (J.F. Libeman, S.W. Slayden). Index.

This volume is the fourth in the series and offers both quality and breadth. As a whole it reflects two increasingly discernible trends in modern structural chemistry. One trend is that parallel to the ever increasing specialization of techniques, there is a strong interaction between the techniques. This interaction crosses the boundaries between various experiments, between the experiments and computations, experiments and theory, and organic and inorganic chemistry. The other trend is the ever increasing penetration of the most modern aspects of structural chemistry the rest of chemistry, making the demarkation of structural chemistry increasingly fuzzy which is the most welcome development from a structural chemist's point of view.

For researchers interested in the progress of structural studies, both methodological and interpretational.