To locate books on your topic, use the PEGASUS Online Catalog (http://pegasus.library.ucsb.edu/F/). 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.
"Comprehensive" Chemistry Series
Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 474 .C65 1987)
Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II (SEL Ref QD 474 .C65 2004)
Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 151.2 .C64)
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 411 .C65 1982)
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry II (SEL Ref QD411 .C652 1995)
Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry III (SEL Ref QD411 .C653 2007)
Comprehensive Supramolecular Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 411 .C66 1996)
These sets from Pergamon Press 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 Treatise on Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 31 .M4)
Commonly
referred to as "Mellor's" after its original editor, this set is old
even in its most recent supplements, but is still a very useful
one-stop source for classical inorganic chemistry of the elements. It
is organized by periodic groups.
Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/kirk/)
In print at (TP 9 .E685 SEL SEL Ref Area)
Commonly referred to as "Kirk-Othmer" after its original editors, this
series of encyclopedias 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. The Fourth Edition (started 1991) is recently
completed.
Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD148 .E53 1994)
This
is a fairly new work, containing a mixture of short "definition"
articles with longer review articles by noted authors; the articles
have good bibliographies. It covers inorganic, bioinorganic,
organometallic and coordination chemistry. The encyclopedia is
organized alphabetically, with a thematic list in the foreword, a
subject index and list of contributors.
Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals (http://www.knovel.com/web/portal/browse/display?_EXT_KNOVEL_DISPLAY_bookid=688)
In print at SEL Ref QD 155.5 .P37 2003
Physical properties, uses and preparations for 2,000 of the most common industrial chemicals.
Handbook of Zeolite Science and Technology SEL Ref TP 159 .M6 H35 2003
This
one volume has chapters by experts on various aspects of synthesis and
structure, characterization, host-guest chemistry and applications of
zeolites.
Knovel.com (http://www.knovel.com/)
Besides the Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals (see above), Knovel
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.
Porphyrin Handbook SEL Ref QP 671 .P6 P67 2000
Very up-to-date and comprehensive 20-volume work on the organic and organometallic chemistry and biochemistry of porphyrins.
Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Orgamometallic Chemistry (SEL Ref QD 151 .G52)
This
is the most comprehensive source of information in inorganic chemistry.
Begun in 1817 by Leopold Gmelin, it went through seven editions before
the current on began in 1924. Originally focused on classic inorganic
chemistry; organometallic was recently added to the title to reflect
the vast growth of the latter field. Gmelin is strong on both tabulated
property data and descriptive information on compounds and reactions.
Gmelin publishes volumes entirely according to editorial choice, reflecting mainly the volume of research in a given area since the last such volume. Gmelin does not attempt to cover chronological periods in a block. Each volume is devoted to a particular aspect of the chemistry of a single element, with a specified closing date. Examples:
The Gmelin volumes are organized by "principal element", where, in general, transition metals rank higher than main group metals, which rank higher than nonmetals Examples:
Gmelin has comprehensive formula indexes, in three parts: 1924-74, 1974-79, and 1980-87. Formulas are listed alphabetically using Hill notation. Volumes before 1980 are in German; volumes since 1980 are in English The UCSB Library does not have a complete set of Gmelin, lacking volumes published before 1960 and after 1991. Publication of new volumes ceased a few years ago, but has resumed in electronic form only. An electronic version of the Gmelin Handbook is available as part of CrossFire Beilstein/Gmelin. This version does not contain all of the text of print Gmelin, but has most of the numeric data and reaction references. Note that CrossFire is a client/server product, and the client must be installed on the terminal where you wish to use it. It can be downloaded and installed on any UCSB campus terminal, and is available on certain public workstations in the Davidson Library.
WebElements (http://www.webelements.com/)
WebElements 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 electronic resource includes the content of three print resources listed below.
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.
Inorganic Syntheses (SEL Ref 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.
Science of Synthesis
This is an electronic version of a handbook of organic synthetic methods, in two parts: Science of Synthesis
contains 44 volumes (and growing( While is is primarly concerned with organic synthetic methods, the first eight volumes deal with the syntheses of organometallic comounds. It is browsable by the table of contents - the organometallic volumes are organized by periodic table groups, with boron getting an entire volume to itself. They
may be searched by chemical name or chemical structure.
The Houben-Weyl Archive
(1909 to 2004) provides immediate access to 146 000 product specific
experimental procedures, 580 000 structures, and 700 000 references in
all fields of synthetic organic chemistry - dating back to the early
1800s. It may be browsed by table of contents, or searched for name
reactions. Most of the earlier volumes are in German, and there is much less material on organometallics in the Archive.
SciFinder: SciFinder is an end-user oriented interface to the Chemical Abstracts Service databases: CAPLUS, REGISTRY, CASREACT,and CHEMCATS. Its databases cover the entire literature of chemistry, including journal articles, patents, conference papers and more, from before 1900 to the present, by far the most comprehensive database of the chemical literature. It may be searched by author, topic, corporate source, chemical name, molecular formula or chemical structure (including substructures and reaction diagrams).
It is available in two versions:SciFinder Web uses a Web browser interface. Users must first register, using a valid ucsb.edue-mail address. It is compatible with the campus proxy server for off campus use. SciFinder Scholar is a client-server system, which requires installation of the SFS client on the terminal where you wish to use it. The client may be downloaded and installed on any Windows or Mac computer by a UCSB user. In the UCSB Davidson Library, SciFinder is available at selected workstations in the Sciences-Engineering Library (2nd floor North).
Ceramic Abstracts/World Ceramics Abstracts: WCA indexes papers and patents that pertain to the formulation, fabrication and application of ceramics and related materials, including zeolites and other mesoporous materials, aerogels and ceramic superconductors. Contains over 283,000 records, with about 950 new records added monthly from over 300 journals and other sources.
Web of Science (Science Citation Index): The Science Citation Index database in Web of Science covers some 6,000 journals in the sciences. UCSB users have access to the index from 1945-present; for recent years it has searchable abstracts. It also has searchable cited references, so you can track an older reference on, for instance, a synthetic method forward to more recent applications or to other related records. It is only available on campus, from ucsb.edu addresses.