Great expectations: using an analysis of current practices to propose a framework for the undergraduate inorganic curriculum.

The undergraduate inorganic chemistry curriculum in the United States mirrors the broad diversity of the inorganic research community and poses a challenge for the development of a coherent curriculum that is thorough, rigorous, and engaging. A recent large survey of the inorganic community has provided information about the current organization and content of the inorganic curriculum from an institutional level. The data reveal shared "core" concepts that are broadly taught, with tremendous variation in content coverage beyond these central ideas. The data provide an opportunity for a community-driven discussion about how the American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Training's vision of a foundation and in-depth course for each of the five subdisciplines maps onto an inorganic chemistry curriculum that is consistent in its coverage of the core inorganic concepts, yet reflects the diversity and creativity of the inorganic community. The goal of this Viewpoint is to present the current state of the diverse undergraduate curriculum and lay a framework for an effective and engaging curriculum that illustrates the essential role inorganic chemistry plays within the chemistry community.

Inorganic chemistry and IONiC: an online community bringing cutting-edge research into the classroom.

This Viewpoint highlights creative ways that members of the Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC) are using journal articles from Inorganic Chemistry to engage undergraduate students in the classroom. We provide information about specific educational materials and networking features available free of charge to the inorganic community on IONiC's web home, the Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic Resource (VIPEr, www.ionicviper.org ) and describe the benefits of joining this community.

Mechanical properties of dense zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs): a high-pressure X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation and computational study of the zinc framework Zn(Im)2, and its lithium-boron analogue, LiB(Im)4.

The dense, anhydrous zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), Zn(Im)(2) (1) and LiB(Im)(4) (2), adopt the same zni topology and differ only in terms of the inorganic species present in their structures. Their mechanical properties (specifically the Young's and bulk moduli, along with the hardness) have been elucidated by using high pressure, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, density functional calculations and nanoindentation studies. Under hydrostatic pressure, framework 2 undergoes a phase transition at 1.69 GPa, which is somewhat higher than the transition previously reported in 1. The Young's modulus (E) and hardness (H) of 1 (E≈8.5, H≈1 GPa) is substantially higher than that of 2 (E≈3, H≈0.1 GPa), whilst its bulk modulus is relatively lower (≈14 GPa cf. ≈16.6 GPa). The heavier, zinc-containing material was also found to be significantly harder than its light analogue. The differential behaviour of the two materials is discussed in terms of the smaller pore volume of 2 and the greater flexibility of the LiN(4) tetrathedron compared with the ZnN(4) and BN(4) units.

Teaching from the primary inorganic literature: lessons from Richard Andersen.

For many who passed through his classroom, Richard Andersen demonstrated how inorganic chemistry can be taught by incorporating the research literature. The Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC) through its website and summer workshops for faculty has supported the development and sharing of more than a hundred exercises or "learning objects" derived from articles highlighting research across the inorganic field. Faculty can adapt and implement these learning objects in their own classrooms to achieve goals such as demonstrating historical context, teaching course material via current research, and elaborating on the scientific process. Literature discussion learning objects highlight current and past research in inorganic chemistry and teach students both chemistry content and how the body of inorganic knowledge is constructed.