Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
Description
A one-semester study of advanced topics in inorganic chemistry with emphasis on structure and bonding, transition metal chemistry, organometallic and solid-state chemistry.
Basics of Qualitative Molecular Orbital Theory
Description
This is a worksheet designed for a flipped-classroom, in-class activity during the first course in our chemistry sequence. It teaches the basics of Molecular Orbital Theory from a semi-qualitative standpoint, by showing the constructive and destructive overlap of s-orbital "wavefunctions." The activity illustrates the formation of the bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals in H2, shows its molecular orbital diagram, and introduces the concept of bond order.
Inorganic Chemistry
Description
This course will emphasize the fundamental concepts needed to understand the diverse chemistry of all the elements of the periodic table. The common theme for the entire course will be Structure and Bonding. The primary focus will be inorganic molecules, ions and solids, but the concepts we will discuss are applicable to all aspects of chemistry. The first two-thirds of the course will cover theories of bonding in molecules and solids along with some background in symmetry and structure.
nanoCHAts: Informal conversations about teaching
A collection of all of the IONiC VIPEr NanoCHAts. These are short discussion on a teaching topic by 4-5 faculty members from different institutions. Each of these events is recorded and posted to the IONiC VIPEr YouTube Channel.
Anion Coordination Chemistry (Bowman-James)
Description
Ligands can bind to anions, just as they do to metal ions, and Bowman-James developed these analogies as well as many examples of selective anion binding ligands. This short slide decks gives background to her work as well as some relevant introductory material.
reaction of PPh3 with elements--the COVID edition
Description
This is a research-like laboratory experience based on the one posted by Brad Wile (linked below). My students are mostly juniors and have had 2 semesters of organic. This spring they are taking the inorganic laboratory virtually, so I wanted to give them a more exploratory lab experience. Their job will be to watch the YouTube videos to see the synthesis and isolated products, and then propose characterization methods they want to employ to identify both the identity and purity of the compounds.
Development of Expanded Porphyrins (Sessler)
Description
The LO focuses upon classic articles describing the synthesis and characterization of the first "texaphyrin" compounds.
This LO is part of a special VIPEr collection honoring the 2021 ACS National Award recipients in the field of inorganic chemistry. Jonathan L. Sessler was the recipient of the Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry for the discovery of expanded porphyrins, molecular recognition via base-pairing, pyrrole-based anion binding, and demonstrating the power of this biomimetic chemistry in drug discovery.
The Organometallic Chemistry Behind the Polymer of Squares (Chirik)
Description
The discussion covers a 2021 publication by the Chirik group (Nature Chemistry, 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41557-020-00614-w) which details the discovery of a new way to polymerize butadiene through iron-catalyzed [2+2] cycloadd
Resolution of Werner complexes -- the COVID edition
Description
This is a classic experiment that has been revised and updated numerous times over the years. The experiment can be found in Girolami, Rauchfuss and Angelici, 3rd edition, but that edition removed some purification steps that were present in the earlier edition which has plagued generations of my students with poor resolution of the enantiomers. Marion Cass published a J. Chem. Educ. article in 2015 that included a pH determination and added back in the recrystallization step. This allowed my students to achieve higher yields and greater resolution in Spring 2020.
Linkage Photoisomerization of SO2 Bound to Osmium
Description
In this literature discussion, students are asked to explore the chemistry behind a eta-1 to eta-2 linkage photoisomer of sulfur dioxide bound to pentammine osmium. There are questions that tie to chemical structure and the nature of the two bonding modes of the ligand as well as an examination of the spectroscopic properties of the complex in the solid state. Two of the questions ask students to draw some conclusions based on their knowledge of periodic trends and the sigma donor ability of ligands.