Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (6th Edition) — Cotton, Wilkinson, Murillo & Bochmann
Some books simply refuse to age. First published in 1962, "Cotton and Wilkinson" — as generations of chemists affectionately call it — remains the reference that teachers, researchers and serious students reach for when a question in inorganic chemistry demands a proper answer. The sixth edition carries the same authority forward, now guided by two accomplished new co-authors, Carlos A. Murillo and Manfred Bochmann.
Book Features
What makes it endure? Clarity built on depth. The book opens with a survey of cross-cutting principles rather than a dry march through periodic trends, so from the very first chapter you learn to see the connections between structure, bonding and reactivity. Every claim rests on structural evidence and bonding analysis, not on rules to be memorised.
The chapters on hydrogen, boron, carbon, nitrogen and the halogens read like a conversation with a patient professor who expects you to think. Where most undergraduate texts stop at the basics, this one walks into orbital interactions, metal cluster chemistry and the thermodynamics that actually explain why a reaction happens. Complex topics stay readable because the authors never hide behind jargon.
Organisation is a quieter strength. Four carefully balanced parts move from foundational principles, through the main group elements and the entire transition series, and end with organometallic catalysis — arguably the most career-relevant section for a modern chemist. Five appendices then collect units and constants, ionization enthalpies, electron affinities, ionic radii and character tables: data you would otherwise hunt for across half a library.
The pedigree helps too. Cotton and Wilkinson both shaped modern inorganic chemistry — Wilkinson shared the 1973 Nobel Prize for work on organometallic compounds. Their name on the cover carries weight in every chemistry department in India, which is why this book still anchors recommended reading lists decades after its first appearance.
Book Index (Contents)
The full contents below show how deliberately the material is sequenced — main group chemistry first, transition metals next, catalysis last.
↔ Swipe the table left or right on mobile.
| Part | Coverage | Chapters | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 — Survey of Principles | Cross-cutting topics bonding all of inorganic chemistry together | Ch. 1 | 2–50 |
| Part 2 — Main Group Elements | Hydrogen; Groups 1, 2, 12–18; plus dedicated chapters on boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen | Ch. 2–15 | 51–632 |
| Part 3 — Transition Elements | Survey of transition metals; first series (Ti to Cu); second and third series (Zr to Au); lanthanides and actinides | Ch. 16–20 | 633–1166 |
| Part 4 — Organometallic Chemistry in Catalysis | Fundamental reaction steps; homogeneous catalysis by transition metal complexes | Ch. 21–22 | 1167–1294 |
| Appendices | Units & constants; ionization enthalpies; electron affinities; ionic radii; molecular symmetry & character tables | 1–5 | 1295–1326 |
Within Part 3, each element family gets its own subsection — titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper in the first series, then zirconium, molybdenum, the platinum group metals, silver and gold further along. That element-by-element treatment is precisely what makes exam preparation with this book so efficient.
Who Should Read This Book
If you are in the first year of a master's programme, this is the text that will carry you beyond exam-oriented summaries. Second-year students and PhD entrants will find it indispensable for advanced topics like cluster compounds and organometallic mechanisms. For CSIR-NET and GATE preparation, its conceptual depth is exactly what the tricky, application-based questions reward.
Download the Book
Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, 6th Edition — full PDF, direct link.
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