This 1FLO focuses on the fundamentals of catalysis and the interpretation of catalytic data. The questions guide students through the definition of catalysts, turnover frequency, turnover number, and require the students to extract information from a table of catalytic data. The data set comes from the unprecedented activity of carba-closo-dodecaborate ligated gold catalysts in hydroamination reported by Lavallo and coworkers in 2013 (Lavallo, V.; Wright II, J. H.; Tham, F. S.; Quinlivan, S. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 3172.

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

This article provides an entry point for students to apply their knowledge of electron configurations and molecular orbital theory to the lanthanide and actinide elements. We have provided a large number of possible questions to use, grouped by theme.  Instructors can pick and choose questions that best fit their course.

This literature discussion was based on a short, readable piece from the trade magazine Chemical and Engineering News. Since this was written in a more general tone, it served as a reasonable introduction to carbenes for students in my advanced inorganic class. I have been looking to expand the examples of carbenes presented to students beyond those in the text. Simple examples of Fischer, Schrock, and N-heterocyclic carbenes are plentiful, but modern applications haven't been featured in the text that I use.