The present issue, Volume 2 of "Boron Compounds" 4th Supplement of the Gmelin Hand book, updates the previous issues by reporting the literature on boron-oxygen systems published up to 1988. For some important recent developments literature is covered through mid-1992; this concerns, for example, the compounds ~-Ba3[B306h and U[B305J which became of interest as materials with nonlinear optical properties. The volume directly com plements the earlier "Boron Compounds" 3rd Supplement Volume 2. In the original literature, alternative formulations are frequently used for the same com pound. This is especially true for many borates. Often, these species are neither completely heteropolar nor covalent, and an experimentally based decision has not been made. Hence, the use of brackets does not necessarily reflect a truly salt-like character. Volume 1 (systems with hydrogen and noble gases) of this particular supplement will be published subsequently, whereas Volume 3a (boron and nitrogen), Volume 3b (boron and nitrogen, boron and fluorine), and Volume 4 (boron compounds containing Cl, Br, I, S, Se, and Te, as well as a section containing carboranes) have already been published. All volumes of the 4th supplement will be augmented by a formula index. The IUPAC nomenclature is generally adhered to; thf means tetrahydrofuran; and occa sionally additional abbreviations for compounds are explained in the text. Positive signs for chemical shifts of the NMR signals indicates downfield shifts from the references, usually internal (CH3)4Si for olH and 013C with others being specified.

The 3rd supplement continues the updating of the original 20 volumes on boron com pounds published between 1974 and 1979. The first supplement to this series brought the literature closing date uniformly to the end of 1977, whereas the two volumes of the 2nd supplement have extended the literature coverage of boron compounds to 1980. Selection and presentation of data parallel the style selected for the two previous supplement volumes, which appeared in 1980/1 and 1982/3, respectively. The Gmelin Principle of the Last Position is largely adhered to, excepting substituted polyboron species containing boron-boron bonds (all of which are found in Chapter 2 within the system boron-hydrogen). Examples of organic derivatives are included, especially in those cases where the carbon-free species are not known; and the carboranes are treated comprehensively. The literature is considered through 1984. Part 1 of the present 3rd supplement contains the systems boron-noble gases and boron hydrogen; Part 2 contains the system boron-oxygen. Part 3 will contain the systems boron nitrogen, boron-fluorine, and boron-chlorine; the remaining systems and a formula indexwill be included in the final 4th part of this supplement. The first chapter of the present volume on the compounds of boron and oxygen provides sections on the binary boron oxides, including some radicals, and the anhydrous berate ions. The following chapter describes boron-oxygen compounds with hydrogen or organyl groups.

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