Synthesis and Characterization of Ferrocene, Acetylferrocene and Ferrocenylethanol

Submitted by Henry Acquaye / Department of Chemistry, University of Redlands on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 10:57
Description

This project is designed to develop the research skills that are required to tackle projects that are larger and more complex than those encountered in first and second year chemistry courses.  The lab is an integrated project-oriented laboratory including synthesis and the use of instrumental techniques such as UV-Visible and infrared, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectrometry, chromatography (HPLC, TLC) and cyclic voltammetry.

Solubility and the Need for Bioinorganic Metal Ion Transport and Storage

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 09:42
Description

 

This is an in class exercise that I use to emphasize the need for metal ion transport and storage in biochemistry.  Applying the Van't Hoff equation to the Ksp value at 25°C for ferric hydroxide, students calculate the iron concentration at which ferric hydroxide would begin to precipitate out in the blood.  It' s an interesting problem that requires very little math beyond that used in gen chem, and the answer is in stark contrast to the amount of iron that we actually store in our bodies.  

High Energy Density Materials: A laboratory and literature investigation (Christe)

Submitted by Kevin Hoke / Berry College on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 21:12
Description

The synthesis of the nitrogen triiodide ammoniate shock-sensitive explosive is a simple laboratory exercise, but it does require a lengthy time for the material to dry before it is active.  This activity uses that time to have students investigate some simple thermodynamics behind their explosive, as well as consult the literature on high energy density materials from the work of Karl O. Christe.

There is also a shorter version of the activity posted as an in-class activity that omits most of the literature investigation.

NMR Coin-Flip Game

Submitted by azmanam / Butler University on Fri, 06/15/2012 - 09:19
Description

A simple coin-flipping game to help students understand the origin of spin/spin splitting in 1H NMR.

The Covalent Bond Classification (CBC) website

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 09:27
Description

The covalent bond classification (CBC) method is a way to count electrons for transition metal compounds. It classifies ligands based on their type, either L, X or Z. This is the website for all things CBC. It contains a library which list useful materials for teaching CBC including books that teach the CBC method. The site also has teaching materials that contain MLX plots for all of the transition metals. The MLX plots are charts that show various electron counts and valence for a given metal.

Five Slides About Percent Buried Volume (%Vbur)

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Mon, 04/23/2012 - 09:29
Description

These slides present a walkthough of performing a Percent Buried Volume (%Vbur) calculation. The %Vbur is a measurement of the bulk of a ligand coordinated to a transiton metal. The calculation uses the crystal structure of a compound to determine how much space a ligand occupies. It does this by placing the metal at the center of a sphere and then calculates the volume of that sphere occupied by the ligand. Originally developed for N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, it has also been applied to mono- and bidentate phosphines.

The Periodic Table of Life

Submitted by Katherine Franz / Duke University, Department of Chemistry on Fri, 04/20/2012 - 08:50
Description

A little more than 5 slides, this is a video I made for a colleague to use in General Chemistry as an intro, or hook, into exciting topics in chemistry (in this case, bioinorganic).  I use these slides as an intro to my junior/senior Inorganic course on the first day of class, to ask the question "What is Inorganic Chemistry?" and get them to think about the "living" parts of "inorganic".  Topics include an overview of essential, toxic, and medicinally active elements of the periodic table, key examples of metalloprotein active sites, and an overview of the functional roles of biological in

Modeling the FeB center in Bacterial Nitric Oxide Reductase: A Reading Guide

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 11:52
Description

In 2011, I was fortunate to have Nicolai Lehnert come and speak to my bioinorganic class on his work modeling the FeB (non heme iron) center in bacterial Nitric Oxide reductase.  He suggested this paper to prepare the students for his talk and I developed this reading guide to help them (the students) get more out of the reading.

CBC (Covalent Bond Classification) Method of Electron Counting

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 12:29
Description

This series of slides works through an example of electron counting using the CBC (Covalent Bond Classification) method. It compares and contrasts the classic ionic and covalent methods to the CBC method. The example used in these slides is an exception to the 18 electron rule using the the classic methods, but by CBC classification it is a very common ML4X4 tetravalent 16 electron Ti compound.