Submitted by Lori Watson / Earlham College on Sun, 03/09/2008 - 16:14
My Notes
Description

This is a literature discussion assignment in which students read a paper, come up with their own answers to the provided questions (and submit them).  This is followed by a general in-class discussion on the paper.  This particular article deals with hydrosilyation of carbonyl compounds by a Re catalyst and describes the mechanism and kinetics in detail.  I found it a good paper to help students connect their P-chem (and inorganic) kinetics with a "real" system.  As part of the literature assignment, I also ask students to draw an MO diagram of a simple substrate (for review).

Attachment Size
lit_jacs129_47_14696_07.doc 28.5 KB
Learning Goals

Upon completing this LO students should be able to:

  1. read and extract information from a primary literature article
  2. develop the MO diagram for SiHCl3 using a fragment orbital approach
  3. interpret X-ray crystallographic data to explain bond distances and angles
  4. analyze kinetics data to understand reaction order and kinetic isotope effect for stoichiometric and catalytic reactions
  5. understand and explain how a reaction can be irreversible yet have labile ligands
     
Implementation Notes

Students who are currently enrolled in Thermodynamics and Kinetics may need to be paired with a student who has previously completed the course

Time Required
2-3 hours writing for students; 50 minutes in-class (could be shorter)
Evaluation
Evaluation Methods

Take home writing assignment and in-class discussion.

Evaluation Results

Students found the kinetics a bit difficult to follow, but "got it" after we went over it in class. They picked up on the catalytic cycle right away and came away with some good "suggestions" for future work.

Creative Commons License
Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike CC BY-NC-SA