Books: IR for Newcomers - Analytical Chemistry (ACS Publications)

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Books

IR for Newcomers

Modern Techniques in Applied Molecular Spectroscopy Francis M. Mirabella. Ed. John Wiley & Sons 605 Third Ave. New York, NY 10158 1998, 403 pp., $59.95

In this book, the editor has assembled nine chapters written by various experts, covering a largefractionof the methodologies used for analytical applications of vibrational spectroscopy. Though there is some mention of measurements outside of the IR and near-IR regions, the book is really about applications and sampling approaches in IR and Raman spectroscopies. The various authors have done a good job at providing up-to-date references and practical applications. In general, the chapters are well written and quite useful as general references. They are most valuable as an introduction to the field. The first chapter lays the theoretical groundwork for vibrational spectroscopy. As such, the information is readily available in other texts. I found some of the descriptions about instrumentation historically interesting but,fromthe point of the remaining chapters, somewhat irrelevant. From my reading there is no IR data presented in the bookfromanything other than interferometers. The descriptions of dispersive instrumentation, although interesting, really do not lead into the other chapters. The sections on proper operation 812 A

of FT instruments are, however, quite good and deserve close reading by anyone practicing in this area. The chapter is extremely well referenced, and interested readers are pointed in the correct direction for further study. Specular and attenuated total-reflection (ATR) measurements are reviewed in the next two chapters, which are very well done. Significant applications are discussed, which bring the theoretical basis for the measurements into clear focus. In the chapter on ATR, much of the background material is easily obtained in traditional texts on reflection spectroscopy, but the applications are well explained. The chapter on photoacoustic measurements is well done and is even better than the previous chapters' examples. Rapidscan and step-scan instrumentation are covered. IR and Raman microspectroscopy are covered in the next two chapters. The particular strength of these chapters lies in the discussions of appropriate microscopic techniques, and choices for objectives and magnifications. Again, both chapters include nice examples and adequate references for the interested reader. The book concludes with chapters on IR emission andfiberoptics. Both chapters have strong background discussions, illustrations of the techniques, and numerous example applications. This book will be most valuable to newcomers to the field of analytical vibrational spectroscopy, especially those in general analytical labs. If one is faced with a characterization problem and is unsure of which are the appropriate sampling methods to use, the information assembled here will be very valuable. For those who have been active in one or more of the areas covered, the book will probably be of less value. Reviewed by Bruce Chase, DuPont Experimental Station

Analytical Chemistry News & Features, December 1, 1998

Complete Coverage of Chemometrics

Handbook of Chemometrics and Qualimetrics: Part A D. L. Massart, B.G.M. Vandeginste, L.M.C. Buydens, S. DeJong, P. J. Lewi and J. Smeyers-Verbeke. Elsevier Science B. V. Sara Burgerhartstraat 25 P.O. Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam 1997, 867 pp., Part A: $273

Changes in the field of chemometrics have come at a rapid pace over the past decade, and this new handbook is a direct reflection of the evolution of the field. Some 11 years ago, a version of this book was published as a textbook for chemists entering thefield.That version focused on the basics of the main chemometrics methods as practiced then, but with an emphasis on applications of classical statistics. As thefieldhas grown, so has the book's scope size, and, unfortunately, price. The textbook has become a twovolume handbook covering the theory and practice of chemometrics aimed now at a slightly more sophisticated reader. One aspect that has remained constant is that this set offers the most complete erage available of thefieldof chemometrics in a single text Part A of the handbook focuses on the more statistically oriented aspects of che-