Geometry of macrocyclic Cu complexes

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Wed, 02/26/2025 - 12:19
Description

This literature discussion introduces students to various tetradentate ligands not commonly seen in textbooks.  Students can apply knowledge of ligand binding to predict coordination geometry while exploring how the 3D nature of more complex ligands can affect their coordination to a metal.

AsF5 - a superacid for super review!

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Fri, 02/21/2025 - 13:02
Description

This LO was developed as a review activity for the end of the semester.  Students are required to touch on a wide range of topics including acid-base theories, crystal systems, point groups, the spectrochemical series, and 19F NMR spectroscopy.  A close reading of the paper is required helping to build student comprehension of the literature.

Flipping Cobalt Spin States

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Fri, 02/21/2025 - 12:01
Description

This activity was designed to assess student comprehension of how changes in pi-donation from ligands can affect both crystal field splitting and metal spin states.  The activity requires students to practice electron counting, idealized crystal field splitting, and then apply these concepts to explain the observed change from low to high spin caused by the loss of a proton.

Eight Coordinate Zirconium?

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Fri, 02/21/2025 - 11:43
Description

This discussion is intended as a brief application of symmetry and ligand coordination to a novel Zr compound. Students apply VSEPR and molecular symmetry to an uncommon organometallic compound, and apply the coordination mode to basic reactivity. It is intended for an in-class activity but could easily be assigned as a short homework assignment.

Exploring the Electronegativity and Hardness of the Noble Gases

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Fri, 02/21/2025 - 11:15
Description

This is a literature discussion focused on calculating and comparing the Mulliken electronegativites of the noble gases. Students can explore how this periodic property extends into the noble gases and impacts the observed reactivity of Group 18 compounds.  The discussion could be used either as an in-class activity or a homework assignment.

Come SLiThErIn' Back

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Mon, 02/10/2025 - 15:25

Join us for a discussion about the 2023 ACS Guidelines for Undergraduate Chemistry Programs with Michelle Brooks (Assistant Director of the Office of Higher Education at ACS), Cora MacBeth (Emory University) and Barb Reisner (James Madison University). This event will take place on 2/18 at 5 pm eastern. The speakers will provide an overview of the Guidelines with an opportunity for Q&A. This will be followed by a conversation about guidelines for developing and teaching inorganic chemistry courses. The goal is to solicit feedback from the community.

Coordination Bonding with Main Group Metals(?)

Submitted by A. M. Christianson / Bellarmine University on Wed, 12/11/2024 - 10:19
Description

This Literature Discussion considers the synthesis of the first carbene-bismuthinidene complex by Gilliard and coworkers in 2019. This molecule serves as an illustration of different bonding models, as it can be described by multiple resonance structures invoking fully covalent, zwitterionic, and coordinate/dative bonding forms. Students analyze these resonance structures and their geometrical implications, then compare to the experimental structural evidence to come to a conclusion about which bonding model(s) best describe this molecule!

Literature Discussion Group Project

Submitted by Wes Farrell / United States Naval Academy on Mon, 08/05/2024 - 14:23
Description

This is a literature-based end of semester project.  After a semester of introducing literature in the form of typical literature discussions, this assignment is given to small groups.  It may be easily amended or added to.  Each group is provided with a paper and accompanying questions that are similar to the literature discussions they have done over the semester.  They then must use these guiding questions to assemble a presentation to the class.  The topics chosen and the guiding questions are designed to provide students with a taste of the many areas of inorganic chemistry that are no

Catalytic dechlorination of PVC

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Wed, 07/24/2024 - 08:18
Description

This LO was inspired by a talk that Megan Fieser gave at the 2024 Organometallic Chemistry Gordon Research Conference. It was an excellent talk with some really interesting chemistry. Wanting something with practical application for my class focused on organometallic chemistry, I looked at one of her 'older' papers and found this really interesting rhodium catalyst. In the main paper for this LO (Mater. Horiz. 202310, 2047), the catalytic dechlorination of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) using a rhodium pincer complex is described.