I teach advanced inorganic chemistry and wanted to find ways to bring in the primary literature, applications, and current research areas. Students read the article, "Role of Defects in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Chemical Sensors" by Eric S. Snow, Nanoletters 2006, 6 (8) pp.
A very simple lab synthesis that allows the student to carry out a coordination reaction and then look at the NMR and IR spectra. I use this as a first lab to introduce them to using the NMR and IR. If students work through the spectroscopy tutorial they should be able to explain the IR and NMR spectra.
Searching and reading the literature is an important tool in teaching organometallic chemistry. This overall project focuses on the improving students' writing skills and to begin to think critically about articles in the literature through a series of different writing assignments. This project is used in a semester long course on organometallics and reaction mechanisms. The first assignment (this LO) is a summary, the second is related to the NSF highlight, and the third is a literature critique.
A really nice site with several lattice structures indexed by several methods, and new structures are continuously being added. I find it useful for getting images for problems sets and exams.
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.
These 6 slides introduce the nomenclature used to describe the stereochemistry of various polypropylenes (PPs) that can be synthesized by metallocene-catalyzed polymerizations. Although PP is the specific polymer discussed, the nomenclature applies to other alpha-olefin polymerizations.
This is a lab that gives students a chance to use a catalyst to perform "green" chemistry. Specifically, they will make one of the new generation of palladium cross-coupling catalysts called PEPPSI, which is a highly active, water soluble catalyst and use it in a Suzuki coupling reaction. Student groups of 2 or 3 will synthesize an NHC ligand, incorporate it into a metal compound, and then perform catalysis in an aqueous microwave reaction using a variety of different reaction conditions in order to determine the optimal catalytic system.
This learning object is a literature discussion based on a paper published in Nature (Labinger, J. A.; Bercaw, J. E. Nature 2002, 417, 507-514; doi:
This assignment is intended as an introduction to searching the chemical literature to identify an article on specific topic (in this case a specific metal within a specified time range). Once they have located their articles, they are expected to name a metal complex and give the oxidation state, d electron count, and geometry.
This in class activity focuses on the ambidentate ligand thiocyanate. Students compare data for known compounds to data for unknowns to make the bonding assignments. Data is provided from Baer, C.; Pike, J. J. Chem. Ed. 2010, 87, 724 where the authors have the students synthesize all the compounds and then complete the data analysis. My course does not include a lab component but I want the students to use literature to support their learning.