The mechanism of Oxidative addition of Pd(0) to Si-H bonds

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Tue, 10/10/2023 - 18:25
Description

I saw Amanda Cook present this work (and another paper, Organometallics202241, 997) at the Organometallics Gordon Conference in summer 2023 and while I was furiously taking notes, I knew that I wanted to teach this paper. The paper elucidates the mechanism of oxidative addition of tertiary silanes to palladium zero phosphine complexes. 

Energetics and mechanisms of reductive elimination from Pt(IV) (short version)

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Tue, 10/10/2023 - 17:39
Description

I am moving away from teaching the Goldberg paper (still one of my favorites) and instead wanted to teach just the highlights as part of my seminar class in organometallic chemistry this fall. I created this shorter version of the activity to use in class. I did NOT have them read the paper in advance, hence the summaries in the LO itself. 

 

Stable Borepinium and Borafluorenium Heterocycles: A Reversible Thermochromic “Switch” Based on Boron–Oxygen Interactions by Robert J. Gilliard Jr.

Submitted by Niharika K Botcha / Carnegie Mellon University on Fri, 06/30/2023 - 10:27
Description

This literature discussion on the Hot Paper communication in Chemistry, A European Journal; highlights the first examples of borepinium and borfluorenium cations whose optical properties can be tuned and also the very first reported example of thermochromism in these cationic species. R. J. Gilliard, Chem. Eur. J. 2019, 25, 12512. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201903348

SLiThEr #48: Teaching Organometallic Chemistry to Undergraduates

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Fri, 05/05/2023 - 07:49
Description

The second in a series on teaching advanced topics to undergraduates, the SLiThEr focuses on organoMetallic chemistry. While the primary framework for the discussion is my senior level course, there is plenty of great content from the live participants.

National ACS Award Winners 2023 LO Collection

Submitted by Shirley Lin / United States Naval Academy on Mon, 03/06/2023 - 11:47

This collection of learning objects was created to celebrate the National ACS Award Winners 2023 who are members of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry. The list of award winners is shown below. 

A Thousand Manipulatable Inorganic Electron-Counting Problems from Crystallography

Submitted by George Lisensky / Beloit College on Wed, 03/01/2023 - 14:40
Description

One thousand interactive organometallic and coordination complexes have been selected and prepared for practice and discovery in electron counting problems. The structures can be displayed and manipulated without requiring software installation using a web browser with JavaScript and JSmol.

Nickel-catalyzed Hydrodefluorination

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Wed, 08/24/2022 - 12:29
Description

This paper describes the use of a  catalytic nickel system for the hydrodefluorination of aryl amides. While organofluorine compounds are extremely useful because of their unique properties, there are growing concerns about the impact of these compounds on the environment. Carbon-fluorine bonds are extremely strong, and so getting them to react is a significant challenge for chemists.

Hydrogenative Depolymerization of Nylons

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Tue, 08/23/2022 - 13:46
Description

This paper describes work from the Milstein group in which ruthenium catalysts with pincer ligands are used to depolymerize nylons by breaking the C-N bond and hydrogenating the resulting products to amines and alcohols. Waste plastic is a serious environmental concern that needs a solution. Organometallic chemists put significant effort into finding ways to convert monomers into polymers, and now we must figure out ways to do the reverse.