SLiThErs - Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable

A collection of all of the IONiC VIPEr SLiThErs (Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable). These events are short presentations on a topic followed by a period of discussion between the presenter and live participants. Each of these events is recorded and posted to the IONiC VIPEr YouTube Channel.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Thu, 12/17/2020 - 14:18

150 Interactive VSEPR Molecules (with lone pairs and pi)

Submitted by George Lisensky / Beloit College on Tue, 04/14/2026 - 15:30
Description

In our course sequence, students use VSEPR in general chemistry. Organic chemistry uses hybrid orbitals and pi-bonding. When students get to inorganic chemistry, they are often confused by the two descriptions, especially with a steric number (lone pairs plus bonded atoms) greater than four.

This activity is designed to serve as a bridge between multiple levels and returned to in more than one course.
150 different molecules can be manipulated in JSmol, with options to show multiple bonds, lone pairs, and orbitals suitable for pi-bonding.
 

2026 Multi-institutional CURE in Inorganic Chemistry

This collection is of LOs related to the Multi-Institutional CUREs developed by the authors. 

Kyle Grice / DePaul University Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:40
Terminal Iron–Dinitrogen and Iron–Imide Complexes Supported by a Tris(phosphino)borane Ligand (Peters)
Description

This literature discussion LO was created for the ACS National Award Winners 2026 collection for Dr. Jonas C. Peters, the recipient of the ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry. This LO is based on the article "Terminal Iron–Dinitrogen and Iron–Imide Complexes Supported by a Tris(phosphino)borane Ligand" published in Angewandte Chemie Int. Eng.

Shirley Lin / United States Naval Academy Sat, 02/28/2026 - 09:16
Characterization of group VI carbonyls with bidentate phosphines
Description

This literature discussion comes from a paper in the Turkish Journal of Chemistry (1999, 23, 9-14) https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/chem/vol23/iss1/2/. In this paper, the authors report spectroscopic data for nine compounds, [M(CO)4(PP)] (M = Cr, Mo or W; PP = dppm, dppe, dppp). This is a very fundamental paper and as such, students are not expected to have had any significant coursework in inorganic chemistry.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Thu, 01/15/2026 - 14:53
1FLO: Addition of H2 to four-coordinate iridium
Description

This paper (J. Organomet. Chem. 2022, 965-966, 122317) describes the synthesis and reactivity of four-coordinate iridium compound with a tridentate ligand. This ligand is referred to in the paper as a pincer ligand which are a general class of tridentate ligands that coordinate in a mer- arrangement.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Wed, 10/22/2025 - 13:41
2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - MOFs

In celebration of the 2025 Nobel prize in Chemistry awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yagi, this collection features various LOs about MOFs.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Wed, 10/08/2025 - 08:43
Metallocene cations and anions
Description

This is a really interesting paper in J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2025, 147, 34641-34646) involving a complex salt in which both the cation and anion are metallocenes. While a majority of the paper is focused on the characterization of two new compounds, it presents some excellent opportunities to practice counting electrons, one of which was a challenge to this author.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Tue, 09/23/2025 - 11:39
Rhenium isocyanide complexes from the Figueroa group
Description

This literature discussion is in honor of Dr. Josh Figueroa, recipient of the 2026 F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. Josh has done some tremendous work with isocyanide ligands and this paper is but a brief glimpse into this field. The complexes of interest contain carbonyl ligands and isocyanide ligands, so there are plenty of opportunities for students to use group theory to predict the number of IR-active vibrations for these ligands.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Tue, 08/26/2025 - 13:34
From Whiteboard to Spartan: An Integrated Exploration of H2A Molecular Orbitals and Molecular Geometry
Description

This two-part activity offers an integrated approach to understanding molecular orbitals and molecular geometry. In class, students will first engage in a hands on, qualitative construction of the H2O molecular orbital diagram using symmetry principles and a whiteboard.

Max Wallace / Colorado State University Pueblo Wed, 07/16/2025 - 18:54
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