Elements of Molecular andBiomolecular Electrochemistry

An ElectrochemicalApproach to Elec-tron TransferChemistry. By Jean-Michel Sav ant.Wiley-VCH, Wein-heim 2006.508 pp., hardcoverE 125.00.—ISBN0-471-44573-9

Sav�ant is a giant of modern electro-chemistry. Insightful, elegant, andgroundbreaking experiments havepoured from his Paris laboratory formore than three decades. Those of usworking in the field have long wonderedat the combination of rigorous andinsightful theory with meticulous volt-ammetric experimentation that haveresulted in kinetic and mechanistic con-clusions that are often of an unrivalledprecision and clarity. The more so, sinceelectron transfer is at the heart ofchemistry—synthetic as well as mecha-nistic—and the use of the conceptuallyrelatively straightforward cyclic voltam-metry experiment offers profound scopefor the understanding, in thermody-namic and kinetics terms, of a plethoraof chemical reactions and processes.The scope of voltammetric insight

can be appreciated from the following,much abbreviated, list of a few headingsand subheadings from Sav�ant!s book:“Redox catalysis”, “Product distributionresulting from competition betweenfollow-up reactions”, “Coupling of elec-tron transfer with acid-base reactions”,“Reduction of carbon dioxide”, “H-atom transfer versus electron +

proton transfer”, “The SRN1 substitu-tion”, “Conformational changes, iso-merisation and electron transfer”,“Stepwise versus concerted mecha-nisms”, “Reaction of radicals withnucleophiles”, “Role of solvent …”,“Enzymatic catalysis”—in short, thechemical conclusions and interpreta-tions are at the cutting edge of theunderstanding of chemical reactivity,and are therefore of profound signifi-cance to all chemists, and especiallythose working in organic and biologicalchemistry.In his book A Brief History of Time

(1968), Stephen Hawking relates that“someone told me that each equation Iincluded in the book would halve thesales”. I fear that Sav�ant!s book writingproject may likely bankrupt him. Inreality there are two books—probablywith quite different readerships—inter-mingled in this tome, which results fromthe Baker Lectures given by Sav�ant atCornell University in 2002. The first is acharacteristically rigorous, insightful,and (to the non-electrochemist) mathe-matically demanding account of voltam-metry. This is what we electrochemistsexpect of Sav�ant, and we delight in it.We love the stories, even though surelyapocryphal, of draft papers submitted tohim by his na:vely communicative stu-dents being cruelly edited, so as toeliminate the paragraphs of explanationand the algebraically essential linksbetween the equations that wereintended to illuminate the theory forlower-caste electrochemists! One canonly speculate about the state ofmodern voltammetry had Sav�antgrown up with an English nanny advo-cating, like Mary Poppins in the musicalof the same name, that “Just a spoonfulof sugar helps the medicine go down …in a most delightful way” (my italics)!However, the second “half-book” in

the work consists of the descriptions ofchemical results that emerge beautifully,clearly, and quantitatively from thevoltammetry. These are extremely sig-nificant and insightful, especially andabove all, for organic chemists. Forexample, it is shown how algebraicallysimple models of electron transfer canrationalize the chemically diverse kindsof behavior that follow when an electronis added to or removed from a substrate.Such models can explain, for example,

whether electron transfer triggers aradical chemistry or an acid–basechemistry. They might also contributeto an understanding of enzymatic catal-ysis mechanisms, thereby leading tooptimized biosensors. These and relatedissues are of central chemical impor-tance, and I strongly urge the chemicalcommunity as a whole to pick up andread Sav�ant!s messages—skim the vol-tammetry on a first read, but recognizethe unique insights into molecular reac-tivity that it can provide. You may thenbe so impressed by what electrochem-ical methods can reveal that you willneed to re-read and get know theentirety of this book of two halves.

Richard ComptonPhysical and Theoretical ChemistryUniversity of Oxford (UK)

DOI: 10.1002/anie.200685453

Organic Electronics

Materials, Manu-facturing andApplications.Edited by HagenKlauk. Wiley-VCH,Weinheim 2006.428 pp., hardcoverE 129.00.—ISBN3-537-31264-1

Electronic circuits are fundamental to amyriad of photonic/electronic products,such as displays, computers, cell-phones,household appliances, and sensors. Thistechnology is mainly based on siliconand Groups III–V semiconductors (andother inorganic materials) processed athigh temperatures for the production offield-effect transistors. Despite concernsrelated to physical, technological, andeconomic limitations, transistor/circuitperformance and integration will likelycontinue to increase according toMoore!s law, leading to smaller, faster,and more powerful electronics. The aimsof this book, Organic Electronics, are tofocus attention and shed light on a newtechnology for producing electronic cir-

AngewandteChemieBooks

1367Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 1367 – 1368 7 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim