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Chemistry

Reference

Dictionaries, Directories, Handbooks, Encyclopedias, etc. - Reference works are useful when you need to obtain quick facts, define the terms and scope of your search, or get a broad overview of a topic. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

HANDBOOKS

Bretherick's Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards: An Indexed Guide to Published Data
THODE Reference (Lower Level)  T 55.3 .H3B73 2007

CRC Handbook of Physics and Chemistry

CRC Handbook of Thermophysical and Thermochemical Data
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QC 173.397 .L53 1994

Dictionary of Alkaloids
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 421.D53 1989

Dictionary of Inorganic Compounds
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 148.D53 1992

Dictionary of Organic Compounds
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 246 .D5 1982

Dictionary of Organometallic Compounds
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 411 .D53 1984

Bretherick's Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards: An Indexed Guide to Published Data

Lange's Handbook of Chemistry
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 65.L36

Wolfram Alpha : Computational Knowledge Engine

Computes a query and provides factual results (e.g., chemical information, such as property, spectra data) which are derived from its own collection of sources.

ENCYCLOPAEDIAS

Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
Also available in Print - THODE Reference (Lower Level) TP 9 .E685

Ullman's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry - 2003 ed.
Also Available in Print - THODE Reference (Lower Level) TP 9 .U57 1985

Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 474 .C65 2004

Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry III
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 411 .C652 2007

Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 71.5 .E53 2005

Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 71.5 .E53 2005

Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 415 .E25E53 2004

Encyclopedia of Computational Chemistry
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 39.3 .E46 E53 1998

Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 77 .E53 2009

 

DICTIONARIES

Dictionary of Named Effects and Laws in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 5 .B32 1980

Dictionary of Names and Synonyms
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 71.5 .E53 2005

EuroTermBank
EU's searchable terminology databank

Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 5 .C5 2001

Interactive Terminology for Europe (IATE)
Multilingual translation database for terminology used in the EU

IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology - the Gold Book

Langenscheidt Routledge German Dictionary of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 5 .L26 1997

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Chemistry
Also available in Print - THODE Reference (Lower Level)  QD 5 .M357 2003 

Articles/Databases

Use article databases to find out which journals, magazines, and newspapers have published articles on your topic. Most useful when recent information is required, or when the topic is too specific to be covered in a book. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

Primary Databases / Indexes

SciFinder Web
(1907 to present, with many references going back to the early 1800s; includes Medline from 1950 to present); major bibliographic database for all aspects of chemistry

Analytical WebBase
This database (also known as Analytical Abstracts) covers the international analytical literature from 1980 to the present.

Beilstein handbook of organic chemistry, fourth edition.
Subscription cancelled.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 251 .B42

  • NOTE: Resource is mostly in German – use this website for German/English chemistry terms

Cambridge Crystallographic Structural Database (Web CSD) / Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre

Contains published crystallographic data on organic, organometallic, and metal complex structures whose 3D structures have been determined using X-ray diffraction or neutron diffraction.  The following search functionality is available in WebCSD: full text and numeric searching, reduced cell searching, 2D substructure searching, and 2D structure similarity searching.  

Gmelin handbook of inorganic and organometallic chemistry
Subscription cancelled.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 151 .G56

  • NOTE: Resource is mostly in German

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD Web) / FIZ Karlsruhe

Numeric database containing records of inorganic crystal structures with atomic coordinate, published since 1915.  For organic or organometallic structures, see the Cambridge Crystallographic Structure Database.

ChemSpider
Freely searchable chemical structures database, acquired by the Royal Society of London in May 2009. 

Common Chemistry
This website, developed by Chemical Abstracts Services (CAS), can be searched by chemical name or Registry number.  It contains about 7,800 chemicals of interest to the general public.  Information displayed include CA Index Name, Registry No., synonyms, chemical formula and structure and a link to Wikipedia.

eMolecules
A free chemistry search engine for chemical compounds that are commercially available.

 
Selected Journals

Secondary chemistry databases

BIOSIS
The print version, Biological Abstracts, is available in the library back to 1924; the electronic version back to 1995

BRENDA : The Comprehensive Enzyme Information System / Dept. of Bioinformatics, TU Braunschweig
Freely searchable database of enzyme functional data derived from published literature.

Compendex (1969 to present)
An engineering database covering chemical and related fields

INSPEC (1969 to present);
Primarily a physics/astronomy database; good coverage of inorganic chemistry and materials science

Pubmed / Medline (1950s to present)
Pubmed covers medical and related areas and is available freely on the internet; it is the public version of Medline which is available at McMaster through Ovid and SciFinder Web.

Science Citation Index Expanded
(Web of Science) (1976 to present);
covers all sciences and indexes journal literature and conference proceedings (no patents or book chapters are indexed); unique feature is the ability to search for citations of publications by an author.

 

 

 

Websites

The Internet is home to useful web sites on many subjects. Unlike the resources on other tabs, the following resources are selected from the free web. Remember to critically evaluate web resources, since web site content is usually unmonitored and unregulated.

DGRweb / American Chemical Society
"DGRweb ...., the searchable online version of the ACS Directory of Graduate Research (DGR), is the most comprehensive source of information on chemical research and researchers at universities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico."
 

Macs in Chemistry: Mobile Science / Chris Swain, Cambridge MedChem Consulting
List of "scientific iPhone (and iPad) applications on the iTunes AppStore..."

 

 

Spectra and Spectral Data

BMRB : BioMagResBank
"A repository for data from NMR spectroscopy on proteins, peptides and nuclei acids."

Diatomic Spectral Database / National Institute of Standards and Technology

Handbook of Basic Atomic Spectroscopic Data / National Institute of Standards and Technology
PDF version

NIST Atomic Spectra Database

NIST Chemistry WebBook
Spectra for organic compounds (and some small inorganic compounds)

NMRShiftDB 
"NMRShiftDB is a NMR database (web database) for organic structures and their nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectra. It allows for spectrum prediction (13C, 1H and other nuclei) as well as for searching spectra, structures and other properties. ... [I]t features peer-reviewed submission of datasets by its users. The NMRShiftDB software is open source, the data is published under an open content license..."

Raman Spectroscopic Library / University College London, Dept. of Chemistry
"...Raman spectra of sixty-four common pigments, both natural and synthetic, known to have been in use before ~1850 AD... Fifty-six pigments have yielded high quality spectra and these have been arranged here, by colour, into a spectroscopic library for reference purposes."

Sadtler Standard infrared prism spectra
There are 5 indexes (cumulative up to 1980 and supplements from 1981):
Spec-Finder,
Alphabetical,
Chemical Class,
Molecular Formula and
Numerical, all located at the end of the spectra collection.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QC 457 .S3

Sigma-Aldrich
This is a chemical products catalogue which contains spectra for some compounds and references to spectra for most compounds.

Spectra and Spectral Data: A select guide to print reference sources held at the Thode Library.

Spectra and Spectral Data / Ben Wagner, University of Buffalo
Listing primarily of print resources; check the McMaster Library catalogue for holdings.

Spectral Database for Organic Compounds
Provides spectra for 32,000 organic compounds

SciFinder Web
Includes spectra for some compounds

 

Material Safety Data

 

Material Safety Data Sheets

Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Chemicals
THODE Reference (Lower Level) T 55.3 .H3 S3z

Sigma Aldrich Library of Chemical Safety Data
THODE Reference (Lower Level) T 55.3 .H3 S54 1988

 

 

Crystallographic Data

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database
"This site is an interface to a crystal structure database that includes every structure published in the American Mineralogist, The Canadian Mineralogist, European Journal of Mineralogy and Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, as well as selected datasets from other journals."

Bilbao Crystallographic Server

Cambridge Crystallographic Structural Database (Web CSD) / Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
Contains published crystallographic data on organic, organometallic, and metal complex structures whose 3D structures have been determined using X-ray diffraction or neutron diffraction.  The following search functionality is available in WebCSD: full text and numeric searching, reduced cell searching, 2D substructure searching, and 2D structure similarity searching.  

Crystallography Open Database
Searchable repository of open data in crystallography

Crystallography online / IUCr
List of crystallographic databases

Database of Zeolite Structures  
"This database provides structural information on all of the Zeolite Framework Types
that have been approved by the Structure Commission of the International Zeolite Association (IZA-SC)."

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD Web) / FIZ Karlsruhe
Numeric database containing records of inorganic crystal structures with atomic coordinates; published since 1915.  For organic or organometallic structures see the Cambridge Crystallographic Structure Database (Web CSD).

International Tables for Crystallography
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 908 .I56

Powder Diffraction File (1960-1988)
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QC 482 .D5P642 (inorganic – microfiche)
QC 482 .D5P643 (organic – microfiche)

 

Patents

Canadian Patents Database

European Patent Office
Espacenet is the freely available database to patent information

Free Patents Online
Chemical structures can be searched through SureChem.

Japan Patent Office

Patent Lens
Searchable US, European, Australian patents back to 1976.  Offer biological sequence searching and visual presentation of patent family.

Patent Retriever 
Free patent PDF download of US, European and PCT patent applications."  Searching is by patent number only.

PatentScope / WIPO
This facility allows you to search 1,374,585 international patent applications and to view the latest information and documents to the International Bureau

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database

What Every Chemist Should Know About Patents

What Every Chemist Should Know About Patents: 2006 Supplement

 

 

Property Info.

Aldrich: Advancing Science
THODE Reference (Lower Level) TP 202 .A415
A catalogue of fine chemicals including property information and literature references to where property and other information were obtained.

Beilstein handbook of organic chemistry , fourth edition.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 251 .B42
General formula index for the basic series and supplementary series I, II, III and IV : covering the literature through 1959
NOTE: Resource is mostly in German – use this website for German/English chemistry terms

ChemBioFinder
Searchable database for property information with links to additional resources, some of them are free. 

Chemical Database / University of Akron, Dept. of Chemistry  
"This database will allow the user to retrieve information for any of 30,209 hazardous chemicals or 'generic' entries based on a keyword search. Potential keywords include names, formula and registry numbers (CAS, DOT, RTECS, EINECS, PubChem, Beilstein and Merck). Formula are represented in Hill format for searching and a more descriptive format for viewing."

ChemIDplus
Provided through the National Library of Medicine, this database can be searched by CAS or chemical name in the basic search interface; chemical structure and substructure, property and toxicity searching is available on the advanced search page. 

Chemical and Physical Properties : Index of Property Names / Duke University Libraries
Lists print resources that contain chemical and physical properites.  The site can be browsed by property name.  Check McMaster's Library Catalogue for holdings of titles.

ChemSpider (free website)
Search chemicals and their structures and discover their properties and spectral data

CODATA Key Values for Thermodynamics.
Table of values for the thermodynamic properties of key chemical substances  

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Also available in Print - THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 65.H23
Tables relocated or removed from the 71st to 87th editions of the CRC Handbook

Dictionary of Inorganic Compounds
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 148 .D53 1992

Dictionary of Organic Compounds
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 246 .D5 1996

Dictionary of Organometallic Compounds
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 411. D53 1995

Dortmund Data Bank
This database can be searched for thermodynamic and thermophysical data. The actual data has to be requested by e-mail.

Finding Physical and Chemical Properties / Vanderbilt University, Science and Engineering Library
List of physical and chemical properties contained in print reference resources or available online. Check McMaster's Library Catalogue for holdings of titles.

Finding Physical Properties of Chemicals : A Practical Guide for Scientists, Engineers and Librarians / A. Ben Wagner, Science and Engineering Library, State University of New York at Buffalo
Critically reviewed internet resources for physical property information

Gmelin handbook of inorganic and organometallic chemistry , index. Formula index.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 151 .G56
NOTE: Resource is mainly in German

Hazardous Chemical Database / National Library of Medicine
Some 5,000 peer-reviewed toxicology data can be searched by chemical name, synonym and CAS registry number

Index to Physical, Chemical and Other Property Data / Arizona State University Libraries
This site provides information to various properties published in handbooks or online.  The site can be browsed by specific property.  Check McMaster's Library Catalogue for holdings of print titles.

International Chemical Safety Cards / National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
A browsable site of over 1,600 (as of July 2009) chemicals.

International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology
This classic and well-known reference was originally published from 1926 - 1930 for the National Research Council in 7 volumes. It contains an enormous amount of critical data on inorganic and organic compounds, and pure substances. Featuring physical, thermodynamic, mechanical, and other key properties, it is a major reference source used by those involved in chemistry, physics, and engineering.

IUPAC-NIST Solubility Database
This database, based on the IUPAC Solubility Data Series, contains "mutual solubilities and liquid-liquid equilibria of binary, ternary and quaternary systems".  For print volumes see call number QD 543 .S6629.

Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data
Publish critically evalutated chemical and physical property data

Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data. Monographs and Supplements
These monographs, available as PDF, contain critically evaluated chemical and physical property data.

Landolt- Börnstein: Numerical data and functional relationships in science and technology
THODE Reference (Lower Level) Q 199 .L25A

Landolt-Börnstein Substance/Property Index
NOTE: McMaster does not subscribe to the online version.

Lange's Handbook of Chemistry
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 65 .L36

Link to Internet Sources for Physical Property Information
This site, origiinally created by Gary Wiggins of Indiana University, includes resources on the Periodic Table, the elements, biochemical data, physical property, scientific constansts, property and conversion calculators.

Materials Properties Locator Database / University of Buffalo Libraries
This is a searchable database for a variety of properties of materials that can be found in reference books. Check McMaster's catalogue for holdings of titles.

MatWeb: Material Property Data
"Searchable database of material properties includes data sheets of thermoplastic and thermoset polymers such as ABS, nylon, polycarbonate, polyester, polyethylene and polypropylene; metals such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, magnesium, nickel, steel, superalloys, titanium and zinc alloys; ceramics; plus semiconductors, fibers, and other engineering materials."  Data sheets are supplied by manufacturers and distributors.

Merck Index

NCBI Chemical and Molecular Databases

NIST Chemistry WebBook

Organic Compound Database / Harold M. Bell, Virginia Tech
Contains 2,483 compounds which can be searched by various values (e.g., formula, index of refraction, mass spectral peaks, UV absorption, etc.)

Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook
Also available in Print - THODE Reference (Lower Level) TP 151 .P45 1997 (7th ed.)

Phase Equilibria Diagrams Online (Phase Diagrams for Ceramists)
Contains more than 21,000 diagrams for non-organic systems, including those published in all 21 hard-copy volumes produced as part of the ACerS-NIST Phase Equilibria Diagrams Program (formerly titled Phase Diagrams for Ceramists).  The database additionally contains over 1,200 new phase diagrams labeled as “Volume 15” that are only available in electronic format.

Physical Properties Source Index (PPSI)
This is an index to "databases, handbooks, and websites (data, definition, measurement) for physico-chemical and other material properties. "

Physical Reference Data

PhysProp Database Demo
This online database retrieves basic data from the PhysProp database of 25,000 compounds.  Individual compounds can be searched by the CAS Registry number only. No sub-structure searching is available in this demo version.

SciFinder Web

Solv-DB / National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
This database contains chemical and physical data on commercially available solvent and can be searched by solvent name, chemical formula, property range, etc.

ThermoDex : An Index of Selected Thermodynamic and Physical Property Resources
ThermoDex contains records for selected printed and web-based compilations of thermochemical and thermophysical data for chemical compounds and other substances. For print resources, consult McMaster's Library Catalogue for holdings of titles to obtain the data.

Wolfram Alpha : Computational Knowledge Engine

 

Citation and Style Guides

These guides give information on the elements required when citing works and on presenting information clearly and succinctly. Best Bets! are marked with aBest Bet!.
Products available to registered McMaster Students/Staff/Faculty Only are marked with a McMaster Use Only.

ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific Information / Anne M. Coghill . 3rd ed.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 8.5 .A25 2006

A Quick Guide to Citing Using the ACS Style Guide, 3rd edition / Pennsylvania State University

Craft of Scientific Writing / Michael Ally; 3rd
THODE Bookstacks (Lower Level) T 11 .A37 1996
Gives advice on writing well and provides examples from various disciplines in science and engineering

CSE (CBE) Citation Guide / Ohio State University Libraries
Based on Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 7th ed, 2006. 
Also available in print - THODE Reference (Lower Level) T 11 .S386 2006

Elements of Style / William Strunk and E.B. White
Also available in print - THODE Bookstacks (Lower Level) PE 1408 .S772
Gives advice on composition and correct usage of grammar

How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper / Robert A Day;
THODE Reference (Lower Level) T 11. D33 2006

On Writing Well: the Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction / William Zinsser
THODE Reference (Lower Level) PE 1429 .Z5 2006

 

 

 

Synthesis & Reactions

Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry , fourth edition.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 251 .B42
NOTE: Resource is mostly in German – use this website for German/English chemistry terms

Chemical Synthesis Database
"ChemSynthesis is a freely accessible database of chemicals. This website contains substances with their synthesis references and physical properties such as melting point, boiling point and density. There are currently more than 40,000 compounds and more than 45,000 synthesis references in the database."

Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 77 .E53 2009

Fiesers' Reagents for Organic Synthesis
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 262 .F5

Handbook of Reagents for Organic Synthesis
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 77 .H37 1999

Inorganic Syntheses
THODE Periodicals (2nd floor) QD 151 .A1 T5

Gmelin handbook of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, index. Formula index.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 151 .G56
NOTE: Resource is mainly in German

Methoden der Organischen Chemie (Houben-Weyl). 4th ed.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 258.M59 1952
For guide on using Methoden click here.

Name Reactions: a Collection of Detailed Reaction Mechanism / Jie Jack Li; 2 nd ed.
THODE Reference (Lower Level) QD 291 .L5 2003

SciFinder Web
CASREACT file includes reactions and the REGISTRY file includes substance data.

 

Journal Abbreviations/Acronyms

Abbreviations, Acronyms, Trivial and Trade Names / ICBP, ETH Zürich

All That JAS : Journal Abbreviation Sources

Beilstein (1910) / Gmelin (1926) Journal Abbreviations / Caltech Library Services

CAplus Core Journal  Coverage List 
An alphabetical list of some 1,500 full- and abbreviated journal titles indexed in CAS.

Journal Abbreviation Resources on the Web / University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A collection of links to a variety of abbreviation resources.

Journal Title Abbreviations / Caltech Library Services
Includes listing from ISI and CAplus

Science and Engineering Journal Abbreviations / Kevin Lindstrom, University of British Columbia
An alphabetical listing of journal abbreviations and their corresponding full titles.