edited by Neil Bartlett (University of California, Berkeley)

The selected papers in this invaluable volume are arranged in chapters, each with an introductory essay. The purpose of the arrangement is to illustrate the process of scientific discovery at work. Neil Bartlett's field is that of powerful oxidizers. The early chapters tell the story of the oxidation of the oxygen molecule and the discovery of xenon chemistry. His work in noble-gas chemistry is summarized. Succeeding chapters show how metastable fluorides such as AgF₃ and NiF₄ came to be prepared at ordinary temperatures and pressures, and how they have provided the most potent oxidizers and fluorinators ever prepared.

• The Discovery of O₂PtF₆ and some O⁺₂ Chemistry
• XePtF₆ and other Xenon Chemistry
• The Xenon Fluorides and Their Complexes
• The Xenon Fluorosulfates and Related Compounds
• Oxidation-State Limits, and Range in the Noble-Metal Fluorides
• Structural Features of Binary Transition-Element Fluorides
• Thermodynamically Unstable Transition-Element Fluorides
• Chemistry in Liquid Anhydrous Hydrogen Fluoride (aHF)
• Some Thermodynamic Considerations
• Graphite Intercalation and Evidence for a Thermodynamic Barrier