Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Tue, 06/08/2021 - 14:48
My Notes
Description

The O'Hare group has studied complexes of the permethylpentalene ligand, and recently reported the reaction of a zirconium complex of this ligand with CO2 to form the carbamate. A series of three different complexes were prepared, each with slightly different products upon reaction with CO2, illustrating subtle differences in reactivity based on either sterics or electronics. To further tangle the web, entropic and enthalpic considerations can also be considered. 

This is a very well written and clearly understandable paper that would be a good introduction to early metal amide chemistry, and the reaction chemistry with CO2 is interesting to students who want to learn more about the possibility of the activation of this greenhouse gas.

Learning Goals

Students will apply CBC notation to classify complexes

Students will interpret NMR and X-ray structures to discuss symmetry/geometry of the complexes

Students will use steric and electronic factors to explain reactivity.

Implementation Notes

I had every intention of using this paper in my Spring 2021 inorganic course but I wasn't able to prepare the lit discussion in time. I really like this paper and hope to use it in the future. I would probably assign the paper and discussion questions in advance, and then have a discussion of the paper in class for 30 minutes, or longer if students were engaged.

Time Required
0.5 - 1 lecture period
Evaluation
Evaluation Methods

I evaluate literature discussions using a Harkness diagram (linked above)

Evaluation Results

no results to share at this time.

Creative Commons License
Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike CC BY-NC-SA