Trinuclear rhenium(III) halide clusters with carboxylate ligands

Four mono(carboxylato)trirhenium complexes and three bis(carboxylato)trirhenium complexes have been synthesized and characterized, principally by mass spectrometry, with supporting evidence from X-ray diffraction. These compounds represent the first trinuclear rhenium carboxylate complexes. The reactions generally proceed readily under comparatively mild conditions. Mass spectrometry has again proved its usefulness as a technique in the field of metal cluster chemistry, having provided the initial identification of the products of the reactions studied. These compounds provide a further base to which future mass spectra of metal cluster compounds can be compared.; Re-examination of a reaction reported by Taha and Wilkinson has also cast considerable doubt onto the validity of a conversion widely reported in the literature that transforms (Re₃Cl₉) _x into [Re₂(O₂CCH₃)₄Cl ₂]. We believe that the literature result is a consequence of the purity of the metal precursor, and suggest that the starting material in the earlier work may have contained ReCl₄ or ReCl₅.; The importance of mass spectrometry in the characterization of the new compounds synthesized in this project has led to a thorough study of calculated isotopic distributions. The information gathered suggests that for isotopically simple molecules, the choice of algorithm for computing an isotopic distribution is unimportant. However, it is important to compute the mass spectrum of an isotopically complex molecule using an algorithm that can, if desired, show the underlying isotopic fine structure of a peak of interest.; In the last chapter of this thesis, the results of a project in chemistry education research are presented. Predicting the success of students in general chemistry has long been of interest to the chemistry education community, and several factors have been identified as contributing factors. An off-hand comment by a student inspired an examination of whether continuity with the same instructor for two semesters of general chemistry contributed to success in the second semester course. The results obtained through an examination of three years of data held by the Chemistry Department indicate that continuing with the same instructor is positively correlated with a higher grade in the second semester of general chemistry, relative to students who have different instructors for the two semesters.