Synthesis and Characterization of Aluminum Complexes of Redox-Active Pyridyl Nitroxide Ligands (Graves/Schelter)
Description
This literature discussion focuses on a Inorg. Chem. article that describes a series of Pt complexes that exhibit competitive reductive elimination reactions to form either an sp2-sp3 bond or an sp3-sp3 bond. One of the complexes also contains a C-C agostic interaction with the metal. The questions are written to be addressed by students in a foundation-level inorganic course.
SLiThEr #48: Teaching Organometallic Chemistry to Undergraduates
Description
The second in a series on teaching advanced topics to undergraduates, the SLiThEr focuses on organoMetallic chemistry. While the primary framework for the discussion is my senior level course, there is plenty of great content from the live participants.
A Thousand Manipulatable Inorganic Electron-Counting Problems from Crystallography
Description
One thousand interactive organometallic and coordination complexes have been selected and prepared for practice and discovery in electron counting problems. The structures can be displayed and manipulated without requiring software installation using a web browser with JavaScript and JSmol.
Building Heteronuclear Diatomic MOs
Description
A guided inquiry activity for students to build the MO diagram for HF based on energetic and symmetry considerations. Students then compare their model to a standard MO diagram and examine what additional information a MO diagram conveys that the Lewis structure does not.
SLiThEr #42: Our Favorite Labs
Chip Nataro / Lafayette College
Thu, 11/17/2022 - 08:29
Description
Chip Nataro (Lafayette College) hosts a live discussion covering the favorite labs that people teach. The discussion somewhat evolved into a conversation on "so, you are teaching inorganic lab for the first time...what do you do?"
A coordination table of the d-block elements
Description
Stanley-Gray, Zhang, and Venkataraman from UMass Amherst mined the Cambridge Structural Database to put together graphics that show trends for coordination geometry, distribution of oxidation states, overall coordination geometry, and coordination geometry with specific ligands to understand the influence of ligand on geometry.
SLiThEr #39: "Learning Object (LO) Development and Course Structuring"
Description
In SLiThEr #39 Chip Nataro (Lafayette University) introduces us to the discussion LOs he uses in his senior-level inorganic course and the topics covered.
Molecular Magnets with Lanthanide Metal-Metal Bonding
A. M. Christianson / Bellarmine University
Wed, 08/24/2022 - 11:36
Description
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.