The chemistry of phenols tends to be ignored in chapters in organic chemical textbooks and to be lost amongst the many classes of functional derivatives. This book is not intended however to provide such a text book approach but to give an account of developments in phenol chemistry in the last two and
more decades. It assumes some familiadty with the chemistry of the phenolic ring.
In this sense it may well appeal more to postgraduates students in academic and industrial work. By no means all phenolic systems have been covered in detail, as for example phenolic propanoids, although most have been referred to at some stage amongst the fourteen chapters. The emphasis thoughout has been on synthesis, on what can be achieved by the use of phenolic intermediates and in the construction of phenolic end products.
The intention in many chapters has been to enable the reader to refer to the original literature wherever possible. Mechanistic aspects have not been depicted except in the first chapter. It is thought and hoped that many of the chapters provide a fund of tutorial material and problems for undergraduate studies and further, that these will encourage perusal of the literature. Relevant
to this there are almost 2,000 references to applied and academic papers.
Phenols are ubiquitous substances and now it is more widely accepted that there are pros and cons concemed in their usage. The pros for compounds are well-known and are illustrated by perennial panaceas such as aspirin, paracetamol, codeine and many others. The cons are less obvious because
they are also materials deeply involved in our standard of living and in most cases hazards involved have only recently come to light.