CHEM 200: Advanced Chemical Concepts: Finding Property Data

• Comprehensive Handbook of Chemical Bond Energies [Schow Ref  QD461 .L86 2007] 
• Comprehensive coordination chemistry II [Schow Ref QD474 .C65 2004]
• CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics [Schow Ref QD65 .H3]
• Dictionary of Organic Compounds [Schow Ref QD246 .D5 1996]
• Encyclopedia of inorganic chemistry [Schow Ref QD148 .E53 2005]
• Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology [Schow Ref TP9.E685]
• Lange's Handbook of Chemistry [Schow Ref QD65 .L36 2005] 
• Merck Index [Schow Ref RS51 .M4 2006] 
• Perry's Standard Tables and Formulas for Chemical Engineers [Schow Ref QD65 .S584 2003]

The reference collection is an excellent place to begin your research if you want a quick and easy way to find:

• ideas for your paper
• a summary of a topic
• a list of recommended resources
• factual information.

When you find a reference book:

• Scan the table of contents to see how it is organized.
• Note its publication date to determine currency of the information.
• Use the index to locate your topic within the book.

• Reference materials include dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, handbooks, and manuals.  Determining the type of information you need will help you determine the best source.  For example, a thermodynamic property such as specific heat might require finding a table but to learn  about the topic you would use an encyclopedia.

• The index in a reference book can determine how best to use it.  If you are using CRC to find the boiling point of benzene, benzene is not listed alphabetically but multiple tables under the heading "boiling point" exist.

• Chemicals are identified in multiple ways. Benzene is also:
  • phenyl hydride (alternative name) [Search SciFinder for additional synonyms]
  • C6H6 (molecular formula)
  • 71-43-2 (CAS registry numbers link information for one compound with multiple names.)   

• One compound could have different registry numbers for different forms. For example: alpha-galactosidase (9025-35-8) and beta-galactosidase (9031-11-2).

• If you cannot find information using the compound name, don't assume the information is not available. Search the "Locate by Substance Identifier" portion of SciFinder for other ways of identifying your compounds.

1. Access SciFinder Scholar
2. Click Accept
3. Click Explore Substances
4. Click Substance Identifier
5. Enter chemical name in the search box and click Search

Searching by chemical name ties all the information, in the database that is related to the chemical, together.

For example, searching by name for benzene shows the structure as well as:

• phenyl hydride (alternative name)
• C6H6 (molecular formula)
• 71-43-2 (registry number)
• ~130549 References (associated citations)

Select your substance and then click the GET REFERENCES box to start your search of all references in SciFinder Scholar that are associated with your compound. From there, you can REFINE by topic, document type, language, etc.

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