Solvents and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry by Christian Reichardt was first published in 1979. The book is now in its fourth edition and, for the first time, has been co-authored by Thomas Welton.

Ralf Giernoth, University of Cologne, Germany, reviews this new edition in Angewandte Chemie. He writes:

Certain monographs are so unique and of such a high quality that they can justifiably be called a standard. “Reichardt” is one of those books. Its goal was always to cover the chemistry of solvents exhaustively in a comprehensive volume.

In practice, there are surprisingly many organic chemists who handle solvents in a virtuoso manner without being familiar (or familiar enough) with the essentials of solvent chemistry. A “brilliant organic chemist” is often someone who is able to “cook”, meaning that he has a gut feeling for how to handle a problem in synthesis. Reichardt’s and Welton’s book aims to improve that situation by providing a comprehensible description of the sensible use of solvents, and by showing how their properties can be described not only qualitatively but also quantitatively.

In addition to some minor editorial improvements, the updated edition features a new chapter on “Solvents and Green Chemistry”. This chapter has been written by Tom Welton, who is undeniably one of the leading scientists in the field. The chapter is real added value, and this in itself makes it worth buying the new edition. Welton gives a concise introduction to the field of green chemistry, and explains that many problems in sustainable chemistry can be ascribed to solvents.

In summary, the book covers the topic “solvents in organic chemistry” with a comprehensiveness and competence that cannot be found in any other work.

• Read the full book review at:
  Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50(48), 11289.
  DOI: 10.1002/anie.201105531
• Interview: Christian Reichardt and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry
  Christian Reichardt, Marburg, Germany, discusses the fourth edition of his highly successful book



• Solvents and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry, 4th Edition
  C. Reichardt, T. Welton,
  Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2010.
  ISBN: 978-3-527-32473-6