This book is intended to offer the reader a snapshot of the field of optoelectronic materials from the viewpoint of inorganic chemists. The field of inorganic chemistry is transforming from one focused on the synthesis of compounds having interesting coordination numbers, structures, and stereochemistries, to one focused on preparing compounds that have potentially useful practical applica tions. Two such applications are in the area of optics and electronics. These are fields where the use of inorganic materials has a long history. As the field of microelectronics develops the demands on the performance of such materials increases, and it becomes necessary to discover compounds that will meet these demands. The field of optoelectronics represents a merging of the two disciplines. Its emergence is a natural one because many of the applications involve both of these properties, and also because the electronic structure of a metal compound that confers novel optical properties is often one that also influences its electron transfer and conductivity characteristics. Two of the more important growth areas that have led to these developments are communications and medicine. Within the communications field there is the microelectronics that is involved in information storage and transmittal, some of which will be transferred into the optical regime. Within the medical field there are chemical probes that transmit analytical information from an in vivo environment. This information needs to be readily accessible from an external site, and then quickly converted into images or data that yield accurate and inexpensive diagnoses."

This book contains a series of papers and abstracts from the 7th Industry-University Cooperative Chemistry Program symposium held in the spring of 1989 at Texas A&M University. The symposium was larger than previous IUCCP symposia since it also celebrated the 25 years that had elapsed since the initial discovery by F. A. Cotton and his co-workers of the existence of metal-metal quadruple bonds. Cotton's discovery demonstrated that multiple bonding in inorganic systems is not governed by the same constraints observed in organic chemistry regarding s and p orbital involvement. The d orbitals are involved in the multiple bonding description. The quadruple bond involves considerable d orbital overlap between adjacent metal centers. Part I of this series of papers focuses upon the impact of this discovery and describes further contributions to the development of the field. Multiple metal-metal bonding now is known to permeate broad areas of transition metal chemistry. The understanding of metal-metal bonding that developed as a result of the discovery of multiple metal-metal bonding awakened a new chemistry involving metal clusters. Clusters were defined by Cotton to be species containing metal-metal bonding. Clusters in catalysis therefore seemed a logical grouping of papers in this symposium. Clusters play an every increasing role in the control of chemical reactions. Part II of this book describes some of the interesting new developments in this field. In Part III the papers examine the role clusters play in describing and understanding solid state materials.

This book contains a series of papers and abstracts from the 7th Industry-University Cooperative Chemistry Program symposium held in the spring of 1989 at Texas A&M University. The symposium was larger than previous IUCCP symposia since it also celebrated the 25 years that had elapsed since the initial discovery by F. A. Cotton and his co-workers of the existence of metal-metal quadruple bonds. Cotton's discovery demonstrated that multiple bonding in inorganic systems is not governed by the same constraints observed in organic chemistry regarding s and p orbital involvement. The d orbitals are involved in the multiple bonding description. The quadruple bond involves considerable d orbital overlap between adjacent metal centers. Part I of this series of papers focuses upon the impact of this discovery and describes further contributions to the development of the field. Multiple metal-metal bonding now is known to permeate broad areas of transition metal chemistry. The understanding of metal-metal bonding that developed as a result of the discovery of multiple metal-metal bonding awakened a new chemistry involving metal clusters. Clusters were defined by Cotton to be species containing metal-metal bonding. Clusters in catalysis therefore seemed a logical grouping of papers in this symposium. Clusters play an every increasing role in the control of chemical reactions. Part II of this book describes some of the interesting new developments in this field. In Part III the papers examine the role clusters play in describing and understanding solid state materials.

This book is intended to offer the reader a snapshot of the field of optoelectronic materials from the viewpoint of inorganic chemists. The field of inorganic chemistry is transforming from one focused on the synthesis of compounds having interesting coordination numbers, structures, and stereochemistries, to one focused on preparing compounds that have potentially useful practical applica tions. Two such applications are in the area of optics and electronics. These are fields where the use of inorganic materials has a long history. As the field of microelectronics develops the demands on the performance of such materials increases, and it becomes necessary to discover compounds that will meet these demands. The field of optoelectronics represents a merging of the two disciplines. Its emergence is a natural one because many of the applications involve both of these properties, and also because the electronic structure of a metal compound that confers novel optical properties is often one that also influences its electron transfer and conductivity characteristics. Two of the more important growth areas that have led to these developments are communications and medicine. Within the communications field there is the microelectronics that is involved in information storage and transmittal, some of which will be transferred into the optical regime. Within the medical field there are chemical probes that transmit analytical information from an in vivo environment. This information needs to be readily accessible from an external site, and then quickly converted into images or data that yield accurate and inexpensive diagnoses."