Handbooks, Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Whether print or electronic, the first place to look for quick facts’ s in a handbook,
dictionary and/or encyclopedia. They gather, in one location, facts, definitions and
other useful information, taken from the original literature, journal articles and other
sources.
A general hint for use of almost any handbook, encyclopedia, or dictionary--if
there are indexes, use them! Also, they tend to use a lot of abbreviations. Generally,
there is a list of the abbreviations and what they mean in the introduction of the book or
at the beginning of a table within the book. A preface or introduction is often provided
to help you use the book.
Print Resources
- Merck Index QV772 .M555 Chemistry Reserves
Good source of nomenclature cross-references, structures
and basic compound information. Generally provides a good though
brief list of uses for a compound.(Also available on CDROM. Ask at
the desk.)
USE THE INDEX IN THE BACK OF THE VOLUME!
- CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 540.2 H191 Chemistry Reserves
New volume comes out each year. Need to use older volumes to find
compound colors. Newer volumes have synonym and molecular formula indexes
included at the end of the "Physical Constants of Organic Compounds" section.
Compounds are listed in alphabetical order, with the parent heading first.
e.g hexanoic acid, 4-methyl. The numbers shown in the indexes for this
section are the entry numbers (order). hexanoic acid, 4-methyl is 6895.
These numbers also represent the order of the structures which are shown for many
compounds, right after the physical constants. For many properties, you must use
the index in the back. Look under property first--i.e. solubility and see if
they have a table that could include your compound.
- Handbook of Tables for Organic Compound Identification (Rappoport) QD291
.R28 1967 Chemistry Reserves
This handbook is known by lots of different names, most commonly as the
`derivitives' book. Most of the information is arranged by class of compound.
Within the tables, the compounds are listed in order of increasing boiling points.
This can vary, so be sure to pay attention to each table. Some property
information is provided as well as methods for preparation.
- Spectrometric Identification of Organic Compounds (Silverstein) QD272
.S6S55 1991 Chemistry Reserves
This textbook describes various methods of spectrometry and provides useful tables
for each form.
- Aldrich Catalog Handbook of Fine Chemicals TP202 .A54 Chemistry
Reserves
This is Aldrich Chemical Company's sales catalog. In addition to sales
information, it does provide some physical properties, the Chemical Abstracts Registry
Number for the compound, and references to other useful sources, such as the
Sigma-Aldrich Spectra collections which will be discussed below. This is now searchable
via the web as well. Sigma-Aldrich
Catalog
- Dictionary of Organic Compounds(DOC) QD245 .D5 1982 (and supplements)
Chemistry Reference
DOC is a multivolume encyclopedia covering more compounds than most of the
other handbooks discussed here. It's strength is its name index, covering many
of the synonyms that can make finding information on a compound such a challenge.
Definitely use the index! First for the main set and then use the supplements
if you don't find your compound. Entries also often provide references
to articles which contain spectra.
- Chemists' Companion QD65 .G64 Chemistry Reference
The subtitle of the Chemist's Companion is `A Handbook of Practical Data,
Techniques, and References'. This pretty much describes it. It has a decent table of
contents and a reasonable index.
- Lange's Handbook of Chemistry QD 65 .l36 1992 Chemistry Reserve
Lange's is a complete handbook like CRC Handbook of Chemistry and
Physics. While they do overlap a great deal, each also has unique tables.
Electronic Resources
- ChemFinder WEB
ChemFinder is an easy to use web-based database which provides access
to information about approximately 50,000 compounds. It is a limited version of CS Chem
Office Ultra and is provided free by Cambridge software. Users can search by
name, molecular formula, Chemical Abstracts Service Registry number and many
other search terms. Take advantage of the help screens.
- Merck Index on CD Ask at the Chemistry Library circulation Desk
This is an electronic version of the 12th edition of the Merck Index. I find it
difficult to use but your mileage may vary. This can only be search from Library computers. Covers about 10,000 compounds. Can be
searched by structure.
- POC (Properties of Organic Compounds) Available on any PC in the Chemistry
Library and other Science branch libraries
POC is easier to use than the CD version of Merck. Can be searched by structure
and a variety of proprties including spectral peaks. At present may only be used
by one simultaneous user so there can be some difficulty getting on. This should
be changed in the future. Provides proprty data, a structure, and references to the
Sadtler collections of spectra.
- Organic
Compounds
DatabaseAvailable via the web
This database
was designed by Harold
M. Bell of Virginia Tech to support courses just like Chem242. You may
put in melting points, molecular formulas, limit by chemical types (e.g
carbonyl present or not) and pull up a small number of relevant
substances.
- Beilstein Crossfire(BC) Available on all PCs in the Chemistry Library.
Client
software may be downloaded by any UW student, faculty, or staff member. Details on the Chemistry
Library Webpage-Beilstein Introduction
BC is a powerfull search system that accesses over 7 million compounds in
Beilstein--organic compounds, and over a million compounds in Gmelin--inorganic
and organometalic. Access is by structure or identification information (name,
molecular formula, etc.) or by hundreds of property options. Not the easiest
product to use but can be valuable.
- Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)WEB, print, other
There are many sources for MSDS on campus. There are some print sources in the
Chemistry Library Emergency Procedures section of the Reference Collection. The Health
Sciences Library and Information Center has several CD products with some of them. A
search of the Web provides many thousands of sources, some better than others. Your
instructor can explain how to get to the campus LSS system as well.