There has been enormous progress in our understanding of molybdenum and tungsten enzymes and relevant inorganic complexes of molybdenum and tungsten over the past twenty years. This set of three books provides a timely and comprehensive overview of the field and documents the latest research. Building on the first and second volumes that focussed on biochemistry and bioinorganic chemistry aspects, the third volume focusses on spectroscopic and computational methods that have been applied to both enzymes and model compounds. A particular emphasis is placed on how these important studies have been used to reveal critical components of enzyme mechanisms.This text will be a valuable reference to workers both inside and outside the field, including graduate students and young investigators interested in developing new research programs in this area.

Part I Molybdenum- and tungsten-containing enzymes; Abundance, ubiquity, and evolution of molybdoenzymes; Molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis; Bacterial molybdoenzymes; The prokaryotic Mo/W-bisPGD enzyme family; Enzymes of the xanthine oxidase family; The sulfite oxidase family of Mo enzymes; Nitrogenase; Tungsten-containing enzymes; Part II Introduction and overview of synthetic Mo and W chemistry; Synthesis of mono- and bisdithiolene Mo and W model compounds; Pterin-inspired Model Compounds of Molybdenum Enzymes; Synthesis of models for the xanthine oxidase family of enzymes; Electron transfer mechanisms in Mo and W compounds; Comparative kinetics of enzymes and models; Models of the metal clusters of nitrogenase; Part III Overview of spectroscopic and electronic studies of Mo and W enzymes; Spectroscopic and electronic structure studies of Mo model compounds and enzymes; Electron paramagnetic resonance studies of molybdenum enzymes; X-ray absorption spectroscopy of molybdenum and tungsten Enzymes; Electrochemistry of molybdenum and tungsten enzymes; Computational studies of molybdenum and tungsten enzymes; Nitrogen Fixation in Nitrogenase and Related Small-Molecule Models