"E"-pH (Pourbaix) diagrams provide an important graphical link between the thermodynamic calculations of potential, pH, equilibrium constant, concentration, and changes in Gibbs energy and the experimentally observed behavior of species in aqueous solutions. The utility of "E"-pH diagrams is extended with the introduction of an additional…

Introductory materials science and engineering courses universally include the study of crystal structure and unit cells, which are by their nature highly visual 3D concepts. Traditionally, such topics are explored with 2D drawings or perhaps a limited set of difficult-to-construct 3D models. The rise of 3D printing, coupled with the wealth of…

This paper will describe a guided inquiry activity for teaching ligand field theory. Previous research suggests the guided inquiry approach is highly effective for student learning. This activity familiarizes students with the key concepts of molecular orbital theory applied to coordination complexes. Students will learn to identify factors that…

Experiments are described for the reliable small-scale glovebox preparation of CpMo(CO)[subscript 3](CH[subscript 3]) and acetyl derivatives thereof through phosphine-induced migratory insertion. The robust syntheses introduce students to a variety of organometallic reaction mechanisms and glovebox techniques, and they are easily carried out…

In a recent article by the authors, the suggestion was made that arrow pushing, a widely used tool in organic chemistry, could also be profitably employed in the teaching of introductory inorganic chemistry. A number of relatively simple reactions were used to illustrate this thesis, raising the question whether the same approach might rationalize…

Catalysis with transition-metal complexes is a part of the inorganic chemistry curriculum and a challenging topic for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. A hands-on teaching aid has been developed for use during conventional lectures to help students understand these catalytic reactions. A unique method of illustrating the…

A molecular orbital (MO) diagram, especially its frontier orbitals, explains the bonding and reactivity for a chemical compound. It is therefore important for students to learn how to construct one. The traditional methods used to derive these diagrams rely on linear algebra techniques to combine ligand orbitals into symmetry-adapted linear…

The stretching modes of ML[subscript "x"] complexes have the same symmetry as the atomic orbitals on M that are used to form its s bonds. In the exercise suggested here, the atomic orbitals are used to derive the form of the stretching modes without the need for formal group theory. The analogy allows students to help understand many…

By using cardboard models that resemble propellers, the students of inorganic courses can easily visualizing the distinct rotation of optical isomers. These propellers rotate clockwise or counterclockwise when they are dropped from a certain height or in the presence of wind. (Contains 1 figure.)

A laboratory method for teaching inorganic qualitative analysis and chemical equations is described. The experiment has been designed to focus attention on cations and anions that react to form products. This leads to a logical approach to understand and write chemical equations. The procedure uses 3 mL plastic micropipettes to store and deliver…

The hydrogenation of alkenes by heterogeneous catalysts has been studied for 80 years. The foundational mechanism was proposed by Horiuti and Polanyi in 1934 and consists of three steps: (i) alkene adsorption on the surface of the hydrogenated metal catalyst, (ii) hydrogen migration to the beta-carbon of the alkene with formation of a delta-bond…

Three physical model systems have been developed to help students deconstruct the visualization needed when learning symmetry and group theory. The systems provide students with physical and visual frames of reference to facilitate the complex visualization involved in symmetry concepts. The permanent reflection plane demonstration presents an…

A laboratory experiment for students in advanced inorganic chemistry is described. Students prepare palladium(II) cyclometalated complexes. A terdentate [C,N,O] Schiff base ligand is doubly deprotonated upon reaction with palladium(II) acetate in a self-assembly process to give a palladacycle with a characteristic tetranuclear structure. This…

Our previous work correlated bond angles of group V and group VI hydrides (AH[subscript 3]E and AH[subscript 2]E[subscript 2], respectively, where E represents a lone electron pair) to the electronegativities of the atoms using the fraction of s character to relate the two. Here we have extended the correlation to the AH[subscript 2]X[subscript 2]…

A novel procedure for the preparation of electrochromic WO[subscript 3] films from readily available materials is presented. It is based on the electrochemical preparation of potassium tungstate from tungsten filaments of incandescent light bulbs in a potassium hydroxide solution. Tungstic acid is then produced by proton exchange using a…