Activation of carbon dioxide by zirconium amides

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Tue, 06/08/2021 - 14:48
Description

The O'Hare group has studied complexes of the permethylpentalene ligand, and recently reported the reaction of a zirconium complex of this ligand with CO2 to form the carbamate. A series of three different complexes were prepared, each with slightly different products upon reaction with CO2, illustrating subtle differences in reactivity based on either sterics or electronics. To further tangle the web, entropic and enthalpic considerations can also be considered. 

Basics of Qualitative Molecular Orbital Theory

Submitted by Austin Scharf / Oxford College of Emory University on Wed, 05/26/2021 - 12:23
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.

nanoCHAts: Informal conversations about teaching

Submitted by Hilary Eppley / DePauw University on Wed, 04/07/2021 - 14:33

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)

Submitted by Hilary Eppley / DePauw University on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 14:56
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.  

National ACS Award Winners 2021 LO Collection

Submitted by Shirley Lin / United States Naval Academy on Fri, 03/26/2021 - 12:14

This collection of learning objects was created to celebrate the National ACS Award Winners 2021 who are members of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry. The list of award winners is shown below. 

The Organometallic Chemistry Behind the Polymer of Squares (Chirik)

Submitted by Megan Mohadjer Beromi / United States Naval Academy on Sat, 02/20/2021 - 12:34
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

Linkage Photoisomerization of SO2 Bound to Osmium

Submitted by Nicole Crowder / University of Mary Washington on Thu, 01/07/2021 - 16:34
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.

SLiThEr #7: Assessment Using Literature Discussions

Submitted by Kyle Grice / DePaul University on Tue, 12/29/2020 - 17:55
Description

This is the seventh SLiThEr () in the series. In this presentation/discussion, Dr. Shirley Lin explains how she used a literature discussion with students to assess their learning and knowledge. This was for a upper-division senior seminar course. In particular, she discusses questions at various levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. She also explains how to use concepts from Chemical Education Research to really dig down and assess student knowledge.