Discussion-based outcomes of organic chemistry laboratory experiments form a powerful tool to create a learning environment, facilitate teamwork, and build scientific skills and analytical ability for undergraduate science students. A Knoevenagel-type condensation reaction was selected to demonstrate these results by taking phenylacetonitrile and…

This study reports an undergraduate laboratory experiment that explores the temperature-dependent kinetics of caffeine release during tea steeping by using quantitative [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy with a water suppression pulse sequence. Designed for introductory organic chemistry laboratory courses, the experiment emphasizes the real-world…

The helium-plasma (HePI) ionization mass spectrometry method was used to track the formation of reaction products and consumption of reactants by continually monitoring the vapors in the reaction headspace in real time. Two examples of the application procedure are presented here: a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction and a 1,4-nucleophilic…

Photochemical reactions are initiated by the absorption of light, triggering the chemical reactions and resulting in the formation of products. These reactions are generally performed using a freely available renewable source of energy-solar energy. Solar simulators mimic both the ultraviolet and visible regions of sunlight and hence can serve as…

Lakes are artists' pigments made from colorants bound to an inert substrate, usually hydrated aluminum oxide. Before the late 19th century, lakes were made from natural pigments extracted from plants and insects, extracted either directly from the dyestuff or indirectly from waste materials generated in the manufacture of dyed textiles. The first…

Most students enter college without any exposure to polymer science, which leads to the poor understanding and slow implementation of plastic recycling programs in the United States. To address the knowledge gap in chemical recycling, we introduce a 2-part laboratory experiment that was conducted in multiple high schools and public outreach events…

Here, we present a laboratory activity in which the students work on an analysis of a questioned document that was written with one out of five possible pens. As a forensics study, the activity applied chemistry and analytical chemistry tools to solve the case. The students were able to apply polarity and solubility concepts to select and discard…

An adipic acid esterification experiment suitable for graduate students has been developed to describe the industrial manufacture of plasticizers. Students first follow the progress of the reaction with simple acid/base titration enabling measurement of the acid number. During the workup of the reaction mixture, they learn how to manage the…

Laboratory experiments provide training to students in experimental techniques and strengthen the understanding of the theory. Herein, a new introductory experiment for organic chemistry laboratory courses is described where students are trained in washing an unknown neutral organic compound using liquid/liquid extraction, isolating it via…

Chromatographic techniques played a major role in several separation processes. In this work, an integrative laboratory practice is proposed in which students are expected to isolate scopoletin and umbelliferone from raw "Ipomoea cairica." Thin layer chromatography (TLC), preparative chromatography (PC), and high-performance liquid…

An undergraduate laboratory experiment has been developed for the synthesis of a reactive cross-linker that is useful in various highly visual demonstrations of organic reactivity, click chemistry, and biobased polymer synthesis. A triazolinedione-based cross-linker, which is known as a useful reagent for click chemistry, can be obtained from…

Removing the pollutants from various wastewater is crucial to the environment, ecology, and humans. However, the pollutants are generally removed by chemical decomposition, which not only consumes a lot of energy but also produces carbon emissions. Electrochemical flocculation is effective to extract pollutant molecules and heavy ions from…

The discovery of ferrocene, Fe(C[subscript 5]H[subscript 5])[subscript 2], in the 1950s sparked the development of organometallic chemistry including metallocene compounds. Shortly after the isolation of ferrocene, the analogous ruthenium and osmium compounds were discovered. The preparation of ferrocene is common in undergraduate inorganic…

Previous educational articles on microfluidic technology mainly focused on continuous microfluidics, so we set up an undergraduate laboratory experiment to introduce droplet microfluidics to students. Students can understand the concept of microfluidic channels and the principles of droplet microfluidics, prepare polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)…

The addition of a small excess of triethyl orthoformate to an alcoholic mixture of NiCl[subscript 2]·6H[subscript 2]O and triphenylphosphine (PPh[subscript 3]) results in an increase in the typical isolated yield of [NiCl[subscript 2](PPh[subscript 3])[subscript 2]] from below 50% to over 85%. The impact of water when present in the reaction…