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…

Assessments that are open-ended and student-centered may be used to encourage formation of networks between prerequisite material and new course content thereby promoting meaningful learning. Creative Exercises (CEs) are assessments that allow multiple correct answers and do not penalize for incorrect statements thereby inspiring creativity. CEs…

An advanced research discovery laboratory course in inorganic chemistry has been developed to engage undergraduate students in authentic research experiences directly related to concepts and theory taught in the lecture portion of the course. The 12-week laboratory involves an initial 4 weeks of training experiments on inorganic/organometallic…

Potash, an essential raw material of the 18th century, used to be produced from the ashes of plants. Known since antiquity, it was in 1807 that Humphry Davy put an end to the decades-long controversy about its nature as a compound. The technology behind potash production was implemented in Brazil by the Portuguese naturalist Frei Velloso. The…

Utility value interventions (UVIs) are brief assignments designed to promote students' perceived utility value of the content they are learning. UVIs have been shown to improve students' academic performance in varying STEM courses; however, the use of UVIs in either chemistry courses or upper-level courses has not been well explored. This study…

This study investigates students' cognitive resources for identifying symmetry elements using survey data collected from 39 inorganic chemistry students from twelve undergraduate inorganic classes at universities across the United States. We propose a framework that leverages students' knowledge of symmetry elements as a manifold of cognitive…

The teaching and learning of chemistry can be challenging due to the complex and abstract nature of the subject matter. Traditional methods of instruction often struggle to engage students and facilitate an understanding of essential chemical concepts. To address this, an innovative card game, "Compound Chain", was developed and…

This report describes a laboratory experiment for an undergraduate-level inorganic chemistry or biochemistry course involving the study of the kinetics of the catecholase activity of a synthetic nickel­(II)-oximate complex. A model substrate, 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol(DBC), undergoes aerobic oxidation to 3,5-di-tert-butylbenzoquinone (DBQ) in the…

The association between student motivation and learning, and changes in motivation across a course, were evaluated for students enrolled in one-semester foundation-level inorganic chemistry courses at multiple postsecondary institutions across the United States. The Academic Motivation Scale for Chemistry (AMS-Chemistry) and the Foundations of…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are a promising approach for incorporating inquiry-based instruction into the undergraduate chemistry laboratory curriculum. This study used data from a national survey of inorganic chemistry faculty members (n = 142) to investigate CURE implementation in the inorganic chemistry instructional…

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…

An integrated inorganic chemistry laboratory experience focusing on heterogeneous electrocatalysis with nickel (Ni)- and cobalt (Co)-based electrocatalysts is designed for upper-division, major-level chemistry students. In this laboratory, students will be guided through the fabrication of an indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass working electrode,…

In all fields of chemistry, it has become essential to use quantum chemical calculations and machine learning for explaining and predicting chemical phenomena. However, it is challenging to apply textbook knowledge to practical research. In this study, we developed teaching material based on computational chemistry to promote the integration of…

As ongoing digitalization accelerates the execution of experiments and the documentation and storage of the corresponding data substantially, appropriate research data management (RDM) is a necessity to enable sustainable research at all. Consequently, a rethinking is currently taking place in academia. This process becomes visible by the…

Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of titanosilicate ETS-10 was used as a means to prepare students for a research-focused independent term project as part of a 200-level descriptive inorganic chemistry course. Students spent the first 7 weeks of the course learning synthesis and characterization techniques that are common for metal oxide…