"You get what you pay for" vs "You can alchemize": Investigating Discovery Research Experiences in Inorganic Chemistry/Chemistry Education via an Undergraduate Instructional Laboratory
Authors:   , Bodenstedt Kurt Wallace 
Published: January 2025

Synthesis of d10 complexes of monovalent coinage metals, copper(I) and gold(I), with dithiophosphinate/diphosphine ligands -- along with their targeted characterization and screening for inorganic or organic light emitting diodes (LEDs or OLEDs, respectively) -- represents the main scope of this dissertation's scientific contribution in inorganic and materials chemistry. Photophysical studies were undertaken to quantify the phosphorescence properties of the materials in the functional forms required for LEDs or OLEDs. Computational studies were done to gain insights into the assignment of the phosphorescent emission peaks observed. The gold(I) dinuclear complexes studied would be candidates of OLED/LED devices due to room temperature phosphorescence, visible absorption/excitation bands, and low single-digit lifetimes -- which would promote higher quantum yield at higher voltages in devices with concomitant lower roll-off efficiency. The copper(I) complexes were not suited to the OLED/LED applications but can be used for thermosensing materials. Crystallographic studies were carried to elucidate coefficients of thermal expansion of the crystal unit cell for additional usage in materials applications besides optoelectronic devices. This has uncovered yet another unplanned potential application for both copper(I) and gold(I) complexes herein, as both types have been found to surpass the literature's threshold for "colossal" thermal expansion coefficients. Two other investigations represent contribution to the field of chemistry education have also been accounted for in this dissertation. First, a 12-week advanced research discovery experiment for inorganic chemistry has been designed to help students develop application-based content expertise, as well as to introduce students to research experiences that are similar to those found in academia, industry, and government research laboratories. Students are expected to develop a novel research project through conducting a literature search to find suitable reaction protocols, incorporating synthetic techniques, collecting data, characterizing products and applications of those products, and presenting their results. This multi-week research discovery experiment is centered on applications of inorganic synthetic techniques to design, analyze, and screen d10 coinage metal complexes for possible LED/OLED-based applications that were presented in chapter 3 of the dissertation. The second chemistry education contribution pertains to designing a pilot research study to investigate undergraduate chemistry majors' perceptions of environmental sources/influences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, career interests, and career choice goals in the lab designed in chapter 4 of the dissertation. Specifically, this research aims to gauge students' perceptions of their ability to perform synthetic and analytical methods for the creation of materials that were used in a novel research experiment in the context of an inorganic chemistry laboratory. This research study used a survey to collect data on students' motivation, self-efficacy, career interests, and career goals upon graduation, along with their perceived barriers within the course. This research study is guided by the following research question: How does an inorganic chemistry laboratory course, following a research discovery model, impact undergraduate students' (a) confidence with techniques and skills, (b) perception of ability to conduct research, and (c) interest in pursuing careers involving chemistry?