SLiThErs - Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable

A collection of all of the IONiC VIPEr SLiThErs (Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable). These events are short presentations on a topic followed by a period of discussion between the presenter and live participants. Each of these events is recorded and posted to the IONiC VIPEr YouTube Channel.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Thu, 12/17/2020 - 14:18

Character Tables for Chemically Important Point Groups

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Mon, 02/09/2026 - 19:04
Description

You might be familiar with the wonderful symmetry site that was (to my knowledge) originally published on the Jacobs University site and with the name change to the Constructor University site. In addition to having wonderful character tables, the site allowed you to enter reducible representations that the site would then reduce. It would also allow you to the full range of molecular motions or select vibrations (both IR and Raman active). The site has disappeared from time to time and it is unclear if it will ever return.

Characterization of group VI carbonyls with bidentate phosphines
Description

This literature discussion comes from a paper in the Turkish Journal of Chemistry (1999, 23, 9-14) https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/chem/vol23/iss1/2/. In this paper, the authors report spectroscopic data for nine compounds, [M(CO)4(PP)] (M = Cr, Mo or W; PP = dppm, dppe, dppp). This is a very fundamental paper and as such, students are not expected to have had any significant coursework in inorganic chemistry.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Thu, 01/15/2026 - 14:53
Synthesis and Group Theory Analysis of MoO2(acac)2
Description

This laboratory experiment is a quick and straightforward synthesis of a MoO2(acac)2 complex. The ligand set allows for two possible geometric arrangements: cis and trans. Using IR spectroscopy along with group theory analysis of the Mo-O stretching modes, students can determine which isomer they formed in their synthesis. NMR spectroscopy is also employed, and confirms the geometric arrangement due to the inequivalence of the acac methyl groups.

Amanda Reig / Ursinus College Fri, 11/14/2025 - 12:27
Rhenium isocyanide complexes from the Figueroa group
Description

This literature discussion is in honor of Dr. Josh Figueroa, recipient of the 2026 F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. Josh has done some tremendous work with isocyanide ligands and this paper is but a brief glimpse into this field. The complexes of interest contain carbonyl ligands and isocyanide ligands, so there are plenty of opportunities for students to use group theory to predict the number of IR-active vibrations for these ligands.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Tue, 08/26/2025 - 13:34
Adducts of XeO3
Description

This literature discussion was prepared as part of the 2025 ACS awards collection in honor of Gary J. Schrobilgen, winner of the M. Frederick Hawthorne Award in Main Group Inorganic Chemistry.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College Wed, 02/26/2025 - 14:03

AsF5 - a superacid for super review!

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Fri, 02/21/2025 - 13:02
Description

This LO was developed as a review activity for the end of the semester.  Students are required to touch on a wide range of topics including acid-base theories, crystal systems, point groups, the spectrochemical series, and 19F NMR spectroscopy.  A close reading of the paper is required helping to build student comprehension of the literature.

Eight Coordinate Zirconium?

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Fri, 02/21/2025 - 11:43
Description

This discussion is intended as a brief application of symmetry and ligand coordination to a novel Zr compound. Students apply VSEPR and molecular symmetry to an uncommon organometallic compound, and apply the coordination mode to basic reactivity. It is intended for an in-class activity but could easily be assigned as a short homework assignment.

Moleculuar Computation and Visualization in Undergraduate Education (MoleCVUE)
Description

The MoleCVUE website contains several items that should be of interest to the VIPEr community, especially the activities.  Each activity is designed to be ready to deploy in lecture, laboratory, or as homework.  There are activities covering all of the major subdisciplines of chemistry (some more than others).  Some activities that might be of particular interest to VIPEr are "Group Theory", "VSEPR", and "Electron Configurations of Atoms and Ions".  All of the activities are written to use WebMO, but could be adapted for other systems.  Most activities are doable with the free or demo versi

Kevin Range / Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Fri, 08/09/2024 - 13:01
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