An improved method for drawing the bonding MO for dihydrogen

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Sun, 06/09/2019 - 14:42
Description
Most of us have probably been there. Discussing homonuclear diatomic MO diagrams and on the first day you want to put up the sigma bonding molecular orbital for H2. If you teach it like me, you emphasize the LCAO-MO approach, so you draw a hydrogen atom with its 1s orbital interacting with a hydrogen atom with its 1s orbital...and then you notice giggling from the less mature audience members. My technique will help to prevent this from happening. The technique is in the "faculty only" files section.

VIPEr Fellows 2019 Workshop Favorites

Submitted by Barbara Reisner / James Madison University on Sat, 06/08/2019 - 16:41

During our first fellows workshop, the first cohort of VIPEr fellows pulled together learning objects that they've used and liked or want to try the next time they teach their inorganic courses.

Guideline for drawing chemical structures

Submitted by Brad Wile / Ohio Northern University on Fri, 06/07/2019 - 17:14
Description

This is the set of guidelines provided for authors by Nature Research. A 6-page PDF gives explicit guidance about rendering molecules using chemical drawing software, and a downloable ChemDraw template (.cds) is provided.

VSEPR: Flash Review

Submitted by Chris Durr / Amherst College on Thu, 06/06/2019 - 16:36
Description

This presentation is meant to be a review of applying VSEPRup to steric number 6. It's designed to be viewed as a powerpoint and printed out to keep for the student's notebook.

It can be used at multiple levels: as a review immediately after learning VSEPR in general chemistry, or as a refresher before starting upper level inorganic chemistry. The instructor could add text or voice over the slides to add more detail or leave the presentation as is for students.

Molecular Orbital Theory: Flash Review

Submitted by Chris Durr / Amherst College on Thu, 06/06/2019 - 16:28
Description

This presentation is meant to be a review of constructing and utilizing an MO diagram, in this case O2. It's designed to be viewed as a powerpoint and printed out to keep for the student's notebook.

It can be used at multiple levels: as a review immediately after learning MO theory in general chemistry, or as a refresher before starting upper level inorganic chemistry. The instructure could add text or voice over the slides to add more detail or leave the presentation as is for students.

The Synthesis and Electronic Structure of [NiX4]2- Complexes and the Role of Crown Ethers in Inorganic Synthesis

Submitted by Wes Farrell / United States Naval Academy on Thu, 06/06/2019 - 15:05
Description

This literature discussion aims to have students in an advanced inorganic chemistry course interpret reaction schemes and electronic spectra, relate chemical formulae to molecular structure, and gain an understanding of how inorganic synthesis is planned and executed.  Students should gain an understanding of how counterions and crown ethers affect structure. Question 7 may be expanded to ask students to why pi-donor ability affects ligand field splitting, or as an introfuction to this topic.

An associated 1FLO based on this paper is linked in the related content.

 

Zinc-Zinc Bonds (Expanded and Updated)

Submitted by Wes Farrell / United States Naval Academy on Wed, 06/05/2019 - 11:42
Description

This paper in Science reports the synthesis of decamethyldizincocene, a stable compound of Zn(I) with a zinc-zinc bond. In the original LO, the title compound and the starting material, bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)zinc, offer a nice link to metallocene chemistry, electron counting, and different modes of binding of cyclopentadienyl rings as well as more advanced discussions of MO diagrams.

Quadruple Bond Acrobatics

Submitted by Lori Watson / Earlham College on Tue, 05/28/2019 - 14:40
Description

Four pairs of students represent quadruple bonding in metal complexes by "forming bonds" with a variety of physical methods involving actions like facing each other while holding hands (sigma bond), touch hands and feet of their partner "above and below" the plane (two pi bonds), touching hands and feet while facing each other (delta bond).  This results in a "Twister"-like pile of students resembling the quadruple bonding interaction

 

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