Comparing Homonuclear and Heteronuclear Diatomic Molecules with WebMO

Submitted by Catherine McCusker / East Tennessee State University on Wed, 11/04/2020 - 13:07
Description

Students first learn the basics of WebMO by building and optimizing 2 small molecules. They then calculate and visualize the molecular orbitals of two diatomic molecules (N2 and BF) and observe how going from a homonuclear to heteronuclear molecule changes the shape of different molecular orbitals. 

As written this activity uses the WebMO demo server so no computational chemistry software/licences are required.

d-Orbital games

Submitted by Patricia Stan / Taylor University on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 12:55
Description

This is a great site for chemistry fun while you learn. They have multiple games, most free if you want to print your own.The card game that I am using is 18.  It is played like 21 or blackjack but uses metal centers and ligands to get to 18.  A fun way to teach 18 e- rule and familiarize students with ligands. My husband suggests using Dove squares instead of the optional benzene "chips" for "betting" which I think will make it very competitive.

Slap count also teaches counting 18 electrons.

Chemistry Icebreakers

Submitted by Anne Bentley / Lewis & Clark College on Sat, 08/15/2020 - 22:37
Description

We have developed a set of icebreaker activities that could be used at any course level, either in an online video chat or in a classroom. These are based on the popular Mad Libs game in which some words are left out of a story and players are asked to provide words to fill in the blanks without knowing much about the story. We've provided an introduction to the game, definition of typical parts of speech that are requested (ie, adverb, noun, adjective, etc), and three starter activities.

First Day Discussion - What Is Inorganic Chemistry?

Submitted by Amanda Reig / Ursinus College on Fri, 08/07/2020 - 21:21
Description

In 2019, the journal Inorganic Chemistry updated it's scope (https://pubs.acs.org/page/inocaj/about.html).  This updated scope inspired me to update my first day of class activity for Inorganic (which was typically a version of the excellent first-day LOs from VIPEr).  

I asked students to read the journal scope (web link or hard copy provided) and answer a few questions in small groups:

Jahn-Teller effect, theory and examples

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Thu, 08/06/2020 - 18:44
Description

At a recent SLiThEr workshop, a request was put out for an introduction to the Jahn-Teller effect. I had already prepared several slides showcasing single crystal X-ray data for my class this spring so I put this together with some additional examples from my lab and the literature.  Single crystal XRD data is presented to support the claims.

Easy and Inexpensive Conversion of Lab Safety Goggles to Face Shields

Submitted by Amanda Reig / Ursinus College on Thu, 08/06/2020 - 13:30
Description

In the time of COVID-19, a need for additional PPE in the form of face shields was deemed required for safe laboratory work when in the presence of other students and faculty.  An inexpensive method was devised to convert standard laboratory safety goggles into a face shield through the use of commercially available plastic report or presentation covers (sometimes called binding covers). This LO describes the fabrication process along with chemical compatibility and flammability testing of the purchased plastic sheets.

A cobalt hydroformylation catalyst tribute to Malcolm Green

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Mon, 07/27/2020 - 20:00
Description

In this paper (Llewellyn, Green and Cowley, Dalton Trans. 2006, 4164-4168) the synthesis and characterization of two cobalt compounds with an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand (IMes) are reported. the first, [Co(CO)3(IMes)Me] was prepared by the reaction of [Co(CO)3(PPh3)Me] with IMes. The second compound, [Co(CO)3(IMes)COMe] is formed by the addition of Co to the first.

Blomstrand, Jørgensen, and Werner

Submitted by Brad Wile / Ohio Northern University on Fri, 07/10/2020 - 11:05
Description

This is a short set of slides I use to introduce aspects of coordination chemistry for my foundation level inorganic chemistry class. 

Demonstration of Hard-Soft Acid-Base Theory: An Ion-Exchanger for Recovery of Rare Earth Metals

Submitted by Gary Guillet / Furman University on Wed, 07/08/2020 - 08:19
Description

The article from The Journal of the American Chemical Society by M. Kanatzidis et al describes a new ion-exchange material (FJSM-SnS) that shows high selectivity for rare-earth metals (REE) and very fast adsorption kinetics.  A number of techniques are used to characterize the properties of the compound that students may not be very familiar with but the article presents in an accessible way.

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