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The two-dimensional assembly of multicarboxylated arenes is explored at the liquid-graphite interface using scanning tunneling microscopy. Symmetry variations were introduced via phenylene spacer addition and the influence of these perturbations on the formation of hydrogen-bonded motifs from an alkanoic acid solvent is observed. This work demonstrates the importance of symmetry in 2D crystal formation and draws possible links of this behavior to prediction of coordination modes in three-dimensional coordination polymers.

The thermodynamics of self-assembly have long been explored by either experimental or theoretical investigations which are often unable to account for all the factors influencing the assembly process. This work interrogates the thermodynamics of self-assembly at a liquid/solid interface by measuring the enthalpy of adsorption encompassing analyte-analyte, analyte-solvent, analyte-substrate, and solvent-substrate interactions. Comparison of the experimental data with computed lattice energies for the relevant monolayers across a series of aliphatic analytes reveals similar ordering within the series, with the exceptions of the fatty acid and bromoalkane adsorbates. Such a discrepancy could arise when the lattice energies do not account for important interactions, such as analyte-analyte interactions in solution. Flow microcalorimetry provides a uniquely inclusive view of the thermodynamic events relevant to self-assembly at the liquid/solid interface.

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Use of peer instruction and facilitation has surged in undergraduate education at large colleges and universities in recent years. Studies on peer instruction have been directed primarily at student learning gains and affective outcomes among the facilitators. For peer instructors, the relationship between their teaching effectiveness and their foundational content knowledge is assumed but understudied. In an effort to promote instructional coherence (i.e., instructional same-pageness) in the introductory organic chemistry program at the University of Michigan, we observed peer-led study group facilitators’ involvement in their study groups (as teachers of groups of 6–12 students) and in a companion course (as learners) designed to reinforce and enhance their content knowledge. Audiovisual recordings of the facilitators in both the companion course and, for ten of them, leading their study groups, were captured over each of the two week periods covering the topics of stereochemistry and also conformational analysis. Recordings were subsequently coded for topic and correctness in presentation of subject matter. Errors made in either study group or the companion course were investigated for error resolution (corrected or uncorrected), source of error, and propagation of corrected errors. Analysis of recordings revealed that facilitators who have their own errors corrected in the companion course, or observe their peers’ errors corrected in the companion course, correctly describe these concepts in study groups. On examining errors made by facilitators when they are leading study group sessions, a backwards analysis showed consistently that either the topics had not been addressed in the antecedent companion course, or the facilitator was not actively engaged with the discussion when the topics were being discussed. These findings have implications to inform not only our own implementation of peer-led study groups, but also those interested in designing subject matter companion courses for peer leaders in other instructional settings.