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
synthesis in air and under inert atmosphere, followed by an 8-week
series of research discovery experiments designed to mirror research
in a graduate- and/or industry-level inorganic chemistry laboratory.
Students are first presented with a research problem related to a
coinage metal (group 11: copper, silver, or gold). They are then asked
to (1) design a synthetic route using peer-reviewed research articles
from the literature with some modification as needed; (2) conduct
their proposed synthetic reactions; and (3) characterize products
to assess purity and determine the molecular structure, as well as
screen their properties toward potential applications.
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