The present volume describes organoberyllium compounds containing at
least one berylli- um-carbon bond, except the beryllium carbides and
cyanides. It covers the literature com- pletely to the end of 1986 and
includes most of the references up to mid-1987. This Gmelin volume is
different from all other volumes of the series on organometallic
compounds in that it is dedicated to an area of research which has
virtually come to a complete standstill. Organoberyllium chemistry has
never been a very popular field, and only few workers have contributed
to its slow growth, as is seen by the relatively small number of
publications in the field. This very modest development became stagnant
in the early 1970's and was followed by a rapid decline. This
exceptional fate of a branch of organometallic chemistry is only partly
due to the very limited number of potential application of beryllium and
its compounds. The compounds of this element are, in principle, at least
as interesting and intriguing to scientists as those of other metals in
the Periodic Table. No doubt the main reason for the apparent ban of all
experimental organoberyllium chemistry is to be found in the
established, and alleged, hazardous properties of beryllium compounds.
Although similar hazards have been established for other organometallics
where active research is still in process, e. g., mercury and lead,
these observations were absolutely lethaI for organoberyllium research.