This is a hands-on introduction to molecular symmetry and point groups. Students are not expected to have any exposure to molecular symmetry before this lab. Students work in pairs to identify symmetry elements in molecules and assign molecules to appropriate point groups.
The course covers the principles and methods at an advanced level in modern chemical analysis. Topic includes chemical structure determination, separation of mixtures, chemical methods, infrared spectroscopy (IR), mass spectrometer (MS), nuclear magnetic spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV/vis).
The "Lit Masters" concept is inspired by and adapted from one of my colleagues, Jenn Manak, in our education department. Students who are novices to reading the literature often are overwhelmed when assigned a paper to read and may struggle in group discussions. The strategy is to assign students to a semester-long group with designated roles for each paper that require them to produce a low-stakes artifact prior to class. During class time groups discuss the paper and it is followed with a debrief.
In this activity, students will collectively build molecular orbitals for homonuclear diatomic molecules using balloons as models for atomic orbitals. This activity gets students up and moving and involved in the building of an MO diagram and allows for 3-D visualization of the core concepts of building molecular orbitals from atomic orbitals.
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.
CHEM 4310 is an in-depth review of modern inorganic chemistry. Topics will include symmetry, acids and bases, reduction-oxidation reactions, periodic trends, coordination chemistry, organometallic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, and material chemistry. The course will meet for three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week.
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.
This literature discussion focuses on a 2022 Nature Comm paper looking at the reasons behind the pyramidal structures of tri-coordinate f-element complexes. There is plenty to discuss in terms of bonding and coordination geometries in metal complexes, and the effects of pressure on coordination geometry.