Catalytic Transformation of Lignin (Abu Omar)

Submitted by Hilary Eppley / DePauw University on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 10:20
Description

Lignin material from plants may be transformed into useful organic materials.  This LO is part of a special VIPEr collection honoring the 2022 ACS National Award recipients in the field of inorganic chemistry. Mahdi Abu Omar was the recipient of the ACS Award in Green Chemistry for his contributions to fundamental science and technology development for catalytic lignin conversion to renewable chemicals, fuels, and materials following green chemistry and engineering principles. 

VIPEr nanoCHAt : NeWBiEs Spring 2022 Learning Objects

Submitted by Shirley Lin / United States Naval Academy on Wed, 02/02/2022 - 18:07

This collection accompanies the IONiC VIPEr nanoCHAt video series NeWBiEs, recorded in Spring 2022. This series is comprised of weekly conversations with two IONiC members, Wes Farrell and Shirley Lin from the US Naval Academy, as they taught a foundation-level inorganic chemistry course for the first time. The LOs discussed in the videos are included in this collection.

An editable Review Jeopardy game via a Macro Powerpoint

Submitted by Paul Smith / Valparaiso University on Wed, 08/04/2021 - 23:17
Description

In searching for a way to review topics before exams, I was informed about this powerpoint template which is macro'd to be operated as a realistic Jeopardy game. The site for the original author of the macro is:

https://sites.google.com/site/dufmedical/jeopardy

(Jeopardy for PowerPoint by Kevin R. Dufendach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.)

nanoCHAts: Informal conversations about teaching

Submitted by Hilary Eppley / DePauw University on Wed, 04/07/2021 - 14:33

A collection of all of the IONiC VIPEr NanoCHAts. These are short discussion on a teaching topic by 4-5 faculty members from different institutions. Each of these events is recorded and posted to the IONiC VIPEr YouTube Channel.

The Organometallic Chemistry Behind the Polymer of Squares (Chirik)

Submitted by Megan Mohadjer Beromi / United States Naval Academy on Sat, 02/20/2021 - 12:34
Description

The discussion covers a 2021 publication by the Chirik group (Nature Chemistry, 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41557-020-00614-w) which details the discovery of a new way to polymerize butadiene through iron-catalyzed [2+2] cycloadd

Introduction to batteries

Submitted by Abby O'Connor / The College of New Jersey on Thu, 01/07/2021 - 13:56
Description

A little more than 5 slides.... but hey batteries are important! Often there are not good slides available to introduce batteries, broadly, so I went a made them! These slides were also created to accompany the LO on redox flow batteries. This set of slides reviews alkaline batteries introduced in general chemistry and transitions to more modern approaches to batteries including lithium ion batteries and redox flow batteries. This work highlights the 2019 Nobel Prize work for lithium ion batteries.

Green Chemistry and Redox Flow Batteries

Submitted by Abby O'Connor / The College of New Jersey on Thu, 01/07/2021 - 10:56
Description

This paper in Chemical Science written by Ellen Matson and co-workers describes a structure function approach to improving the properties of non-aqueous redox flow batteries based upon polyoxovanadate-alkoxides (POV-alkoxides). Given the importance of battery technology on society and sustainable chemistry, this article allows students to engage with a paper that could have broad implications in society.

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.

A copper "Click" catalyst for the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Wed, 06/10/2020 - 11:40
Description

This paper (Gayen, F.R.; Ali, A.A.; Bora, D.; Roy, S.; Saha, S.; Saikia, L.; Goswamee, R.L. and Saha, B. Dalton Trans2020, 49, 6578) describes the synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of a copper complex with a ferrocene-containing Schiff base ligand. The article is relatively short but packed with information. However, many of the details that are assumed knowledge in the article make for wonderful questions some of which I hope I have captured.