Based on “Inorganic Chemistry”, Miessler and Tarr, 4th edition, 2011, Pearson Prentice Hall

Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry

All images in this presentation obtained with permission from Pearson Education, Inc., except when noted

What is inorganic chemistry?� Organic chemistry – hydrocarbon compounds and their

derivatives� Inorganic chemistry – chemistry of everything else?� Sounds like a lot!!!

� Inorganic chemistry studies:� All remaining elements in the periodic table (and carbon too!)� Organometallic chemistry – compounds with direct metal-

carbon bonds, including catalysis of many organic reactions� Bioinorganic chemistry – biochemistry + inorganic chemistry� Environmental chemistry – both organic and inorganic

compounds

Recent example of the importance of inorganic chemistry� 2010 Nobel prize in chemistry� Palladium-containing catalysts for organic synthesis� Antitumor compounds� Enzyme inhibitors

Contrasts with organic chemistry� You can find single, double and triple

bonds in both organic and inorganic chemistry areas

Single, double and triple metal-metal bonds

Single, double, triple bonds in organometallic chemistry

Quadruple metal-metal bonds� Carbon-carbon quadruple bonds are not found in organic

chemistry

� How are these bonds formed?

Quintuple metal-metal bonds???

Hydrogen� Organic chemistry – hydrogen is nearly always bonded to a

single carbon� Inorganic chemistry – hydrogen can be terminal atom or

encountered as a bridging atom between two or more atoms

Alkyl groups acting as bridges� Rare in organic

chemistry except in reaction intermediates

Differences in coordination number and geometry� Carbon is limited to a maximum coordination number of

four (as in CH4)� Inorganic compounds have central atoms with coordination

numbers of five, six, seven and even higher� Most common coordination geometry for transition metals is

an octahedral arrangement (six bonds) around a central atom

Other differences in coordination geometries

Aromatic rings in inorganic chemistry

Carbon-centered metal clusters� Role of carbon is dramatically different from organic

compounds� Explaining how carbon forms bonds to the surrounding

atoms has been challenging

“Buckminsterfullerene”� C60� nanotubes, graphene

Concluding remarks

� There are no sharp dividing lines between subfields in chemistry� Inorganic chemistry seems to hold them all together� Acid-base chemistry and organometallic reactions are of vital

interest to organic chemists� Oxidation-reduction reactions, spectra and solubility relations are of

interest to analytical chemists� All subjects related to structure determination, spectra,

conductivity and theories of bonding appeal to physical chemists� Use of organometallic catalysts provide a connection to petroleum

and polymer chemistry� Presence of cordination compounds such as hemoglobin and metal-

containing enzymes provide a tie to biochemistry