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
I have never enjoyed teaching nomenclature, but it is certainly important for students to know what is meant when they see a name out there in the wild. I use Gary's excellent in-class activity (linked below) and then follow up with these slides to cement the knowledge in the last 10-20 minutes of class. The first content slide is a list of nomenclature rules from IUPAC but I normally fill in a list of class-generated rules on the title slide before moving to the truth... our in-class rules are often quite close to the published rules.
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.
For our virtual offering of inorganic chemistry laboratory at Harvey Mudd College in Spring 2021, I made some videos and collected some high quality data (IR, 1H NMR, MS, UV-Vis, mp, and X-ray diffraction) that I will make available for my students. The videos show the synthesis of Co and Mn acacs, the difference between as-prepared and recrystallized compounds, making solutions for UV-Vis and Evans method NMR, and making Evans method capillary tubes. The procedures for the synthesis of these compounds is found in Woolins (either the first or second editions).
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.
This paper in Chemical Science written by Ellen Matson and co-workers describes a structure function approach to improving the properties of non-aqueous redox flow batteries based upon polyoxovanadate-alkoxides (POV-alkoxides). Given the importance of battery technology on society and sustainable chemistry, this article allows students to engage with a paper that could have broad implications in society.
This is the 6th SLiThEr (SLiThErs - Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable). It was hosted by Dr. Joanne Stewart from Hope College. She discussed how to do effective group work in an online environment. This information is very useful for any class at any level and we highly recommend checking it out. Dr. Stewart also has an LO on effective group work that has been updated for online group work.
This is the fifth SLiThEr (Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable), hosted by Drs. Kari Stone and Anthony Fernandez, in which they present and discuss some of their favorite Learning Objects from VIPEr and how they use them.
This is the 4th in the series of SLiThErs (Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable). This was presented by Dr. Caroline Saouma on how flipping her inorganic chemistry course helped diversity and inclusivity. This ties in very well with SLiThEr #3, which was on flipped classrooms as well (https://www.ionicviper.org/web-resources-and-apps/slither-3-flipping-yo…).
This is the 3rd SLiThEr (Supporting Learning with Interactive Teaching: a Hosted, Engaging Roundtable) in the series, hosted by both Drs. Anthony Fernandez and Meghan Porter, who discuss how they flip their classrooms. One of the classes discussed was a general chemistry course, and another was an intermediate inorganic chemistry course. The SLiThEr was recorded and posted on YouTube (see web resource link below).