My advanced inorganic students often have trouble conceptualizing microstates and term symbols. This exercise is intended to provide a hands-on assembly of microstate models and their combination to form term symbols.
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.
This literature discussion is based on a 2022 Science paper describing a series of dilanthanide complexes with exceptional magnetic properties due to the presence of metal-metal bonding. These molecules are the first reported species to feature direct bonding between two lanthanides! The paper contains ample material for discussion of molecular symmetry and bonding, oxidation states and electron configurations, and magnetism. The handout includes a description, glossary, discussion questions, and pre-class worksheet.
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.
The goal of this course is to provide an in-depth introduction to the broad subject of organometallic chemistry. Selected topics include: main group organometallics, oxidation states, ligands, structure and bonding, mechanism and mechanistic analysis, cross coupling, hydrogenation, hydroformylation, olefin polymerization, olefin metathesis, and other applications in homogeneous catalysis and organic synthesis.
This course (CHM 599) offers a brief introduction to the study of Nuclear Chemistry, one of the key areas of chemistry. Success in this course requires mastery of chemical vocabulary, principles, and concepts as stated in the degree program’s learning outcomes. In CHM 599, students learn how nucleons interact within the nucleus, half-lives, decay pathways and mechanisms, and nuclear cross-sections and understand the importance of the sub-atomic particles in the nucleus.
This LO is a literature discussion based on one figure in Chan et. al.
This In-Class Activity is meant to follow up discussions of ligand field theory toward the end of MO theory including the effects of sigma donors, pi donors, and pi acceptors, and how it relates to absorption spectra and observed color of some transition metal complexes. Students have learned crystal field theory and the effects of geometry/symmetry on ∆, then we extend to LFT and how the chemistries of different ligands affect ∆.
This LO uses borane and carborane clusters to practice assigning point groups and counting electrons. It also asks students to recall electronegativity trends to predict dipoles, and they can check their predictions against calculated Mulliken charges.