The discovery of ferrocene, Fe(C[subscript 5]H[subscript 5])[subscript 2], in the 1950s sparked the development of organometallic chemistry including metallocene compounds. Shortly after the isolation of ferrocene, the analogous ruthenium and osmium compounds were discovered. The preparation of ferrocene is common in undergraduate inorganic…

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous materials that are often crystalline with high surface area and structural tunability. In this laboratory experiment designed for inorganic chemistry students at the undergraduate level, students complete a two-step experiment where they will first (i) synthesize two isostructural…

Despite tremendous efforts by instructors and textbook authors, students find it difficult to develop useful chemical intuitions about structures and key properties of the important d-block organometallic species that have a d[superscript 6], d[superscript 8], or d[superscript 10] d-electron count. A full molecular orbital analysis is not always…

A comprehensive laboratory-style teaching activity involving the synthesis, characterization, and analysis of structure-activity relationships of metal-organic framework (MOF) nanozymes was developed specifically for undergraduates at Tianjin University. The students acquired familiarity with the general approach in synthesizing MOFs by…

In this paper, the main purpose is to describe the development and use of three flowcharts for identifying types of isomers and naming coordination compounds. The first flowchart is designed to help students identify the type of isomers between the two coordination compounds. The second one is is designed to identify the type of stereoisomerism.…

This article highlights the multianalytical study of exuded liquid from an ancient Egyptian sealed alabaster vase by Master's students in an applied chemistry for cultural heritage course. Master students are introduced to the field of Archaeometry that see the collaboration of experts in different areas of research such as conservators, curators…

Across the United Kingdom Higher Education system, the percentage of white students attaining a first or upper second-class degree exceeds the that of Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) students. This is known as the BAME degree awarding gap. Awarding gaps are also seen at the module level. The BAME module awarding gap is defined as the difference…

Inorganic phosphors are the main component of light emitting diodes which have caused the revolution in lighting industry as an energy-efficient and long-lasting replacement of traditional incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent tubes. They are also used in various consumer products and displays and can potentially find applications in…

General chemistry courses predominantly use expository experiments that shape student expectations of what a laboratory activity entails. Shifting within a semester to course-based undergraduate research activities that include greater decision-making, collaborative work, and "messy" real-world data necessitates a change in student…

The study of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes can be widely applied across disciplines in the undergraduate curriculum. Ruthenium photochemistry has advanced many fields including dye-sensitized solar cells, photoredox catalysis, lightdriven water oxidation, and biological electron transfer. Equally promising are ruthenium polypyridyl complexes…

Introductory chemistry students often have difficulty visualizing the 3-dimensional shapes of the hydrogenic electron orbitals without the aid of physical 3D models. Unfortunately, commercially available models can be quite expensive. 3D printing offers a solution for producing models of hydrogenic orbitals. 3D printing technology is widely…

Electrochemical analysis is an important skill to teach in chemistry curricula because it is a critical tool in current high-impact chemical research. Electrochemistry enables researchers to analyze a variety of systems extending from molecules to materials that encompass research themes ranging from clean energy to substrate activation in…

The straightforward large-scale synthesis and the ability to adjust the properties of polymers make polymers very attractive materials. Polymers have been used in numerous applications and an increased demand is foreseeable. However, a serious issue is the accumulation of enormous amounts of end-of-life polymers, which are currently recycled by…

The plan view is used in crystallography and materials science to show the positions of atoms in crystal structures. However, it is not widely used in teaching general chemistry. In this contribution, we introduce the plan view, and show these views for the simple cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, CsCl, NaCl,…

Chunk-based strategy and mnemonics have been developed to write ground state electron configurations of elements, which is a routine exercise for the higher secondary (pre-university) level general chemistry students. To assimilate a better understanding of the nature of chemical reactions, an adequate knowledge of the periodic table of elements…