The resources on this website will help students learn concepts in materials chemistry, solid state chemistry, and nanoscience. The website provides links to
In the 2013 Inorganic Curriculum Survey, respondents were asked about the resources they used when they teach inorganic chemistry. About 20% of respondents selected "other" and provided information about these resources. A number of people mentioned specific websites. This collection consists of the websites submitted in the survey.
A series of JAVA applets of Tanbe-Sugano diagrams were developed by Prof. Robert Lancashire at the University of the West Indies. These diagrams allow students to determine deltao/B values based on ratios of peak energies without the pain of rulers and drawing lines. There are also features that allow a person to input values and automatically calculate certain parameters. You can also quickly find values of delta_o and B for certain complexes via a drop-down menu on some of the pages (e.g. Cr3+ complexes).
I used this paper to illustrate several course concepts related to materials structure (crystal lattice structure, coordination number, crystal field theory and orbital splitting, symmetry, electronic spectra, allowed and forbidden transitions). This activity was paired with a laboratory experiment (see related VIPEr objects) in which students synthesized Prussian Blue, and gave students a really in-depth look at what was going on when they mixed those solutions together.
This "Five slides about" is meant to introduce faculty and/or students to Spectroelectrochemistry (SEC), a technique that is used in inorganic chemistry research and other areas. SEC is a powerful tool to examine species that are normally hard to synthesize and isolate due to instability and high reactivity. Papers with examples of SEC techniques are provided on the last slide.
I asked the students in my junior/senior inorganic course to develop their own literature discussion learning objects and lead the rest of the class in a discussion of their article. Student Johann Maradiaga chose this article describing the synthesis and characterization of Fe2GeS4 nanocrystals with potential applications in photovoltaic devices (Sarah J. Fredrick and Amy L. Prieto, “Solution Synthesis and Reactivity of Colloidal Fe2GeS4: A Potential Candidate for Earth Abundant, Nanostructured Photovoltaics” J. Am. Chem.
This suite of activities can be used as a unit exploring the use of small molecule models and biophysical techniques to illuminate complicated biomolecules. The Parent LO: Modeling the FeB center in bacterial Nitric Oxide reductase is a short, data-filled and well-written article that is approachable with an undergraduate's level of understanding.
These Five Slides About examine the structure and function of the iron binding and transport protein transferrin. Students learn that transferrin also acts as an iron buffer and as a potential antimicrobial agent. The structure of the protein is explored in detail; it consists of a single polypeptide (80kDa) folded into two lobes, each of which can bind a single iron in a high affinity region. Changes in the protein as a result of iron uptake is discussed. The iron binding region and the requirement of a bidentate synergistic anion (carbonate) are examined.