Inorganic Chemistry For Dummies

The quick and painless way to master inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry can be an intimidating subject, but Inorganic Chemistry For Dummies makes it a little less daunting. Whether you're currently enrolled in an inorganic chemistry class, or you have a background in chemistry and want to expand your knowledge, this book provides an approachable, hands-on guide that helps make sense of some of the most difficult concepts. From the periodic table to nanotechnology and everything in between, you get a more thorough understanding of key theories and concepts. Inorganic Chemistry 101 — get an easy-to-understand intro to inorganic chemistry, from atoms and oxidation to nuclear chemistry and acid base chemistry Bond, chemical bond — discover the various ways atoms can bond with one another, like covalent bonding and ionic and metallic bonding It's elemental — dive into easily digestible chapters that break down and make sense of the elements of the periodic table and what they contribute to inorganic chemistry Live in a materials world — find out how inorganic chemistry became a modern science and the many ways it's contributed to the technology revolution and the modern world we live in Open the book and find: The scoop on chemical bonding Key groups in the periodic table The lowdown on atomic structure and periodic trends Molecular symmetry and group theory An overview of nanotechnology today Inorganic chemistry experiments you can try at home Ten of the most important Nobel Prizes that were awarded to chemists Learn to: Grasp difficult concepts with ease Make sense of inorganic and organometallic compounds Score high in your inorganic chemistry course

Introduction 1 Part I: Reviewing Some General Chemistry 7 Chapter 1: Introducing Inorganic Chemistry 9 Chapter 2: Following the Leader: Atomic Structure and Periodic Trends 21 Chapter 3: The United States of Oxidation 39 Chapter 4: Gone Fission: Nuclear Chemistry 53 Chapter 5: The ABCs: Acid–Base Chemistry 69 Part II: Rules of Attraction: Chemical Bonding 81 Chapter 6: No Mr. Bond, I Expect You to π: Covalent Bonding 83 Chapter 7: Molecular Symmetry and Group Theory 101 Chapter 8: Ionic and Metallic Bonding 121 Chapter 9: Clinging to Complex Ions: Coordination Complexes 143 Part III: It’s Elemental: Dining at the Periodic Table 159 Chapter 10: What the H? Hydrogen! 161 Chapter 11: Earning Your Salt: The Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals 171 Chapter 12: The Main Groups 183 Chapter 13: Bridging Two Sides of the Periodic Table: The Transition Metals 207 Chapter 14: Finding What Lies Beneath: The Lanthanides and Actinides 221 Part IV: Special Topics 233 Chapter 15: Not Quite Organic, Not Quite Inorganic: Organometallics 235 Chapter 16: Accelerating Change: Catalysts 253 Chapter 17: Bioinorganic Chemistry: Finding Metals in Living Systems 267 Chapter 18: Living in a Materials World: Solid–State Chemistry 287 Chapter 19: Nanotechnology 305 Part V: The Part of Tens 313 Chapter 20: Ten Nobels 315 Chapter 21: Tools of the Trade: Ten Instrumental Techniques 319 Chapter 22: Ten Experiments 323 Chapter 23: Ten Inorganic Household Products 329 Glossary 335 Index 343

Michael L. Matson is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Houston-Downtown where he instructs Inorganic Chemistry. Alvin W. Orbaek is a research assistant at Rice University, Houston, Texas, where he is completing his PhD in chemistry.