Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
Students perform weekly laboratory experiments to explore and apply concepts covered in the lecture
component of the course.
Students perform weekly laboratory experiments to explore and apply concepts covered in the lecture
component of the course.
This course focuses on the chemistry of the elements, including electronic structure, bonding and
molecular structure, ionic solids, coordination compounds, the origins of the elements, and the descriptive
chemistry of the elements. Topics also include inorganic synthesis, materials science, industrial chemistry,
and an introduction to bioinorganic chemistry.
Materials Chemistry will explore many of the fundamental relationships between a material’s chemical structure and the subsequent interesting and useful properties that result. In order for advances in electronic, magnetic, optical, and other niche applications to be made, an understanding of the structure-property relationship in these materials is crucial. This course will emphasize inorganic systems, and topics will include descriptions of various modern inorganic solid-s
This course is an introduction to modern inorganic chemistry. Topics include principles of structure, bonding, and chemical reactivity with application to compounds of the main group and transition elements, including organometallic chemistry.
Chip Nataro (Lafayette College) hosts a live discussion covering the favorite labs that people teach. The discussion somewhat evolved into a conversation on "so, you are teaching inorganic lab for the first time...what do you do?"
This literature discussion is based on a 2022 Science paper describing a series of dilanthanide complexes with exceptional magnetic properties due to the presence of metal-metal bonding. These molecules are the first reported species to feature direct bonding between two lanthanides! The paper contains ample material for discussion of molecular symmetry and bonding, oxidation states and electron configurations, and magnetism. The handout includes a description, glossary, discussion questions, and pre-class worksheet.
Descriptive chemistry of the main group elements with some emphasis on the non-metals. Transition metal compounds: aspects of bonding, spectra, and reactivity; complexes of n-acceptor ligands; organometallic compounds and their role in catalysis; metals in biological systems; preparative, analytical, and instrumental techniques.
RSC has a series of chemistry games that can be downloaded from their website. The link here is specifically for games related to transition metals. There are three games (a Jeopardy! style game, a Password-style game and a Taboo-style game). The game formats could easily be adapted to other content. You may need to sign up for a free instructor account to access the resources.
This In-Class Activity is meant to follow up discussions of ligand field theory toward the end of MO theory including the effects of sigma donors, pi donors, and pi acceptors, and how it relates to absorption spectra and observed color of some transition metal complexes. Students have learned crystal field theory and the effects of geometry/symmetry on ∆, then we extend to LFT and how the chemistries of different ligands affect ∆.