Contains biographical chapters on famous chemists, historical and contemporary, in coordination chemistry and chapters describing historical aspects of the field. Examines current issues in isomerism and other aspects of coordination chemistry. Reviews applications of coordination chemistry, including solvent extraction of metals, materials chemistry, and environmental chemistry. Includes contributions from Nobel laureates Glenn T. Seaborg and Linus Pauling, and an introduction by Joseph Chatt. Organized to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Alfred Werner's coordination theory, the volume's 37 chapters include papers presented at the Coordination Chemistry Symposium as well as additional invited papers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Joseph Chatt; Theories of Coordination Compounds: Alfred Werner's Triumph; While Waiting for Werner: Chemistry in Chains; Werner's Beitrag, 1893: A Linguistic and Epistemological Analysis; J.V. Dubsky and His Participation in Werner's Coordination Theory; Early Structural Coordination Chemistry; John C. Bailar, Jr. (1904-1991): Father of U.S. Coordination Chemistry; Kai Arne Jensen's Contribution to Coordination Chemistry; Jannik Bjerrum (1909-1992): His Early Years; Jannik Bjerrum's Later Life-Turning Toward Chemical Physics: Personal Recollections of a Grateful Student; The Contributions of David P. Mellor, Frank P. Dwyer, and Ronald S. Nyholm to Coordination Chemistry; History of Coordination Chemistry in Japan During the Period 1910 to the 1960s; The Compleat Coordination Chemistry: What a Difference A Century Makes; Coordination Chemistry of Pigments and Dyes of Historical Interest; The Importance of Non-Bonds; Effective Atomic Number and Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion: 60 Years Later; Brief History of the Thermodynamics of Complex Equilibria in Solution; Stabilization of Unstable d-Metal Oxidation States by Complex Formation; Oxidation States and d]q Configurations in Inorganic Chemistry: A Historical and Up-to-Date Account; Coordination Based on Known Free Ligands, Moderate Dissociation Rate, Weaker Electron Affinity of Central Atom Than Ionization Energy of Ligand, and Quantum Paradoxes; The Chelate, Macrocyclic, and Cryptate Effects; Linkage Isomerism of Thiocyanate Bonded to Cobalt(III): From Alfred Werner to the Present Day; Optical Activity in Coordination Chemistry; Inorganic Optical Activity; Chirality in Coordination Compounds; Equilibrium Shift Mechanism for the Pfeiffer Effect; Mechanism of Optical Resolution of Octahedral Metal Complexes; Nontraditional Ligands and Their Impact on Coordination Chemistry; Electron-Deficient Boranes as Novel Electron-Donor Ligands; Lanthanide Aminopolycarboxylates; Hydrolysis Behavior of the Transuranium Elements; Solvent Extraction of Metals Is Coordination Chemistry; Coordination Chemistry in the Solvent Extraction of Metals: Developments from Russian Laboratories; Humic and Hydrous Oxide Ligands in Soil and Natural Water Metal-Ion Complexation; Coordination Model of Metal-Ion Interaction with Water Hyacinth Plants; Design of New Chelating Agents For Removal of Intracellular Toxic Metals; Coordination Compounds of Metal Ions in Sol-Gel Glasses; Coordination Compounds in New Materials and in Materials Processing