Efforts to encourage laboratory automation through student access to and usage of commercial equipment are hampered by prohibitive acquisition costs. Here, an automated liquid handler using manual pipettes was developed to operate on a commercial hobbyist 3D printer at a cost of US $325. Arising from an iterative design process that ensured…

The use of molecular models in chemistry and biochemistry classes is very effective in helping students understand covalent bonds and the chemical structure of molecules. However, conventional molecular models cannot represent intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions. Herein, we describe 3D printed…

Many electroanalytical techniques utilize three-electrode systems consisting of reference, counter, and working electrodes. These electrodes are often expensive when purchased commercially, making low-cost alternatives a vital area of research. Cheaper alternatives have been proposed; however, they often require time-consuming assembly techniques…

We present the design of a periscope-type VIS spectrometer for educational purposes that combines strong features from various earlier designs and adds new ones. Three 3D-printed pieces that hold a small thin mirror sheet, a 1/8th wedge of a DVD, and two razor blades are easily assembled and facilitate insight into its construction. A new feature…

Due to immense cost reduction and routine commercial availability, 3D printing has become the cutting-edge technology with enormous potential--also for educational and applied chemistry. It opens the opportunity to print custom-made reactors, such as (micro) flow reactors. In addition, 3D-printing technology can simplify chemical reactions, such…

Proteins are "magical" workers inside our body, as they accomplish most of the cellular functions. Here we report on a novel approach to teach protein folding and unfolding, using magnets and flexible 3D-printed protein structures. To illustrate this physical process, we used colored circular magnets designed for whiteboards, connected…

An increased reliance on nanotechnology and recent developments in materials fabrication coincide with a greater prevalence of 3D printers in high schools. We developed this lesson to foster an exploration of interdisciplinary fields and to increase access to recent advances in materials chemistry through two different learning modules. The lab…

This work presents a homemade multirole 3D-printed modular spectrometer(MPMS), which can be easily assembled like bricks and expanded with several modules to measure different types of spectra, such as UV-vis absorption, fluorescence emission, flame emission/absorption, glow discharge, and even Raman spectra. The spectrometer is designed to be…

This report outlines an approach for preparing 5-color 3D printed plastic models of molecular orbitals and electron density surfaces using a hobby-grade 3D printer. Instructions are provided for preparing 3D orbital and electron density surface (EDS) models using solid or mesh representations in ground state and transition state structures. We…

The use of radioactive isotopes in radioactive decay studies can be a problem due to the manipulation of radioisotopes, expensive equipment, and the difficulty of finding samples with a reasonable half-life (between 1 and 10 min). In this paper, we present a mock-up of a Geiger-Mu¨ller counter plus three fictitious radioisotopes. They form an…

3D printers have facilitated a wealth of 3D printed molecular models illustrating key structural concepts for student learning. However, general adoption of 3D printed models in the organic chemistry classroom proceeds slowly as the majority of consumer-grade 3D (fused deposition modeling (FDM) and resin) printers are inherently monochromatic,…

Experiments involving electrochemical cells are of great pedagogical value for learners of introductory chemistry. This paper discusses an improved experimental kit made from a 24-well cell culture plate and a 3D-printed scaffold. The current design focuses not only on the accuracy of the result but also on the intuitiveness of the wiring work and…

The electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen is a critical step in many green chemistry processes. The key to the efficiency of water electrolysis is the synthesis of an appropriate electrocatalyst. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an increasingly important part of many industrial processes. In this study, we propose an efficient laboratory…

Upper-division undergraduate students are introduced to polymer processing using material extrusion fused filament fabrication 3D printing to make poly(lactic acid) (PLA) mechanical testing specimens. Computer aided design and slicing software packages are used to demonstrate the process of preparing 3D computer models for printing. Following the…

Experimental methods for determining 3-D atomic structures, such as crystallography, are rarely taught in the undergraduate curriculum, yet are considered to be the norm for 3-D structure determination in a research setting. Although a fully physical understanding of crystallography takes years of practice, practical applications and basic…