Metal-Ligand Multiple Bonds and Frustrated Lewis Pairs

Submitted by Matt Whited / Carleton College on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 14:40
Description

This is a literature-based activity that focuses on a review I recently published as part of a thematic series on C-H activation.

The review highlights similarities between the newly discovered frustrated Lewis pairs and polarized metal-ligand multiple bonds.  There are many ways to use the review, but the attached set of questions focuses on drawing analogies among seemingly diverse types of reactivity using frontier-molecular-orbital considerations.

Soluble Methane Monooxgenase Spectroscopy

Submitted by Gerard Rowe / University of South Carolina Aiken on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 09:37
Description

Determining the reactive intermediates in metalloenzymes is a very involved task, and requires drawing from many different spectroscopies and physical methods.  The facile activation and oxidation of methane to produce methanol is one of the "holy grails" of inorganic chemistry.  Strategies exist within materials science and organometallic chemistry to activate methane, but using the enzyme methane monooxygenase, nature is able to carry out this difficult reaction at ambient temperatures and pressures (and in water, too!).

Dioxygen Activation in Non-heme Iron Enzymes

Submitted by Gerard Rowe / University of South Carolina Aiken on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 09:26
Description

This lecture provides a short introduction to the other half of biological iron chemistry:  enzymes that do not contain a porphyrin group that ligates the iron atom.  There are several important applications for non-heme iron in cells, both mammalian and bacterial.  Oxygen activating non-heme iron enzymes fall into a few basic categories and includes mononuclear iron monooxygenases and dioxygenases, and binuclear iron monooxygenases. The requirements to activate and utilize dioxygen will be given.

Exploring the Nanoworld Innovating through Materials from the University of Wisconsin Madison

Submitted by Patricia Stan / Taylor University on Thu, 07/19/2012 - 13:29
Description

This is a great web resource for all types of nano materials.  There are lesson plans, demos, activites, labs and lots of background information.  It is very easy to navigate and there are videos of the labs so you can see each step - very useful when doing a type of synthesis or technique new to you.

Recyclable Catalyst for Conversion of Carbon Dioxide into Formate Attributable to an Oxyanion on the Catalyst Ligand

Submitted by David R. Weinberg / Colorado Mesa University on Thu, 07/19/2012 - 13:28
Description

This is a literature discussion of a short JACS communication that describes an iridium catalyst for the reduction of bicarbonate to formate. It addresses green chemistry, potential industrial processes, bridges between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, pH-dependent solubility, electron counting, oxidation state assignments, and thermodynamic analyses.

ChemTube3D

Submitted by Anthony L. Fernandez / Merrimack College on Thu, 07/19/2012 - 08:51
Description

ChemTube3D is a website maintained by the University of Liverpool that has interactive 3D animations ans structures.  The content is broken up into several areas:

  • A Level;
  • Organic Reactions;
  • Structure and Bonding;
  • Polymers;
  • Solid State.

There is a lot of information on the site, and the information could be used in many courses.  The areas that I find most useful in my sophomore-level inorganic chemistry course.

Colored Note Cards as a Quick and Cheap Substitute for Clickers

Submitted by Chris Bradley / Mount St. Mary's University on Tue, 07/17/2012 - 10:23
Description

For many years I have resisted using clickers, mainly because at our university there is no standard universal clicker. I wanted to keep student costs as low as possible but also desired the type of live feedback during a lecture that clicker questions can provide. In both my general chem. (200-300 students) and upper division courses (50-75 students), I now pass out 4 or 5 colored notecards on the first day of class and make sure everyone has one of each color.

Distinguishing Between Metal Catalysts for Inner- and Outer-Sphere C-H Bond Functionalization

Submitted by David R. Weinberg / Colorado Mesa University on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 14:13
Description

This activity is meant to teach students about the types of homogeneous transition metal C-H bond functionalization catalysts. Before class, the students will read a short discussion of inner- and outer-sphere C-H bond functionalization catalysts. Then they will use their knowledge of transition metal oxidation states and ligands in order to assess whether a variety of catalysts react via inner- or outer-sphere pathways.

Metal MACiE Database

Submitted by Anthony L. Fernandez / Merrimack College on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 11:21
Description

As a non-bioinorganic chemist, I am always looking for resources to help me teach bioinorganic chemistry in both my sophomore-level and advanced inorganic chemistry courses.  The "metalloproteome" was the subject of an article in the December 12, 2011 issue of C&E News ("Merging Metals into Proteomics: Tackling the Systematic Study of Metalloproteins").  In this article, the author mentions a new database, called Metal MACiE, of metals in metalloenzymes.

The Covalent Bond Classification (CBC) website

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 09:27
Description

The covalent bond classification (CBC) method is a way to count electrons for transition metal compounds. It classifies ligands based on their type, either L, X or Z. This is the website for all things CBC. It contains a library which list useful materials for teaching CBC including books that teach the CBC method. The site also has teaching materials that contain MLX plots for all of the transition metals. The MLX plots are charts that show various electron counts and valence for a given metal.

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