This article reviews the scope of inorganic cluster compounds measured in single-molecule junctions. The article explores how the structure and bonding of inorganic clusters give rise to specific quantum transport phenomena in molecular junctions.
This article describes the educational
and public engagement outcomes
of an activity called the “ChemClout Challenge” that
was implemented in a general chemistry course at UC Riverside. Students
worked in groups to make chemistry-themed videos, posted them to social
media platforms, then voted on their favorite videos. The majority
of students elected to make videos where they anthropomorphized general
chemistry concepts, physically acting out principles such as ideal
gas law relationships and electrolyte solubility. Students reported
enjoying these anthropomorphized videos most. These types of videos
received over one million views worldwide within the first month of
posting on the social media platform, TikTok. After the course was
over, 75 students completed voluntary Likert scale surveys to assess
the educational and outreach impact of the ChemClout Challenge. Eighty-eight
percent of students reported that the activity made chemistry more
relatable, whereas 76% of students noted that the activity helped
them retain course concepts two months after the course was completed,
indicating the activity benefitted student learning. Moreover, 84%
of students reported that their friends and family members outside
of UC Riverside watched the videos, with 72% of students reporting
that they explained the chemical concepts of their videos to their
friends. These studies indicate that student-created social media
videos that anthropomorphize chemistry are highly effective vectors
for student-centered learning and public engagement in chemical concepts.
This activity may find particular utility for educators during the
COVID-19 pandemic, as it is compatible with distance learning.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.