Mechanochemical syntheses avoid or considerably reduce the use of reaction solvents, thus providing green chemistry synthetic alternatives that are both environmentally friendly and economically advantageous. The increased solid-state reactivity generated by mechanical energy imparted to the reactants by grinding or milling can offer alternative…

Esters are volatile and pleasantly smelling compounds, commonly used as food additives. Using Ti(OBu)[subscript 4]-catalyzed acyl exchange, we demonstrate a scent transmutation experiment, in which two fragrant esters swap their acyl and alkoxy substituents and are, during the course of a reactive distillation, quantitatively converted into two…

Stoichiometry has always been a puzzling subject. This may be partially due to the way it is introduced to students, with stoichiometric coefficients usually provided in the reaction. If the stoichiometric coefficients are not given, students find it very difficult to solve problems. This article describes a simple 4-h laboratory experiment for…

A research project for senior undergraduates of chemistry has been developed to introduce syntheses of a series of monodispersed semiconductor PbS quantum dots (QDs) and their characterization methodologies. In this paper, we report the preparation of monodispersed semiconductor PbS QDs with sizes smaller than the exciton Bohr radius using a…

The coupling of a student experiment involving the preparation and use of a catalyst for the asymmetric epoxidation of an alkene with computational simulations of various properties of the resulting epoxide is set out in the form of a software toolbox from which students select appropriate components. At the core of these are the computational…

Variable temperature NMR spectroscopy is used to determine the ?H° and ?S° of hydrogen bond formation in a simple diamide. In this two- or three-day experiment, students synthesize N,N'-dimethylmalonamide, dimethylsuccinamide, dimethylglutaramide, or dimethyladipamide from methylamine and the corresponding diester (typically in 50% recrystallized…

In this laboratory activity, the equilibrium between square pyramidal and octahedral V(IV)O[superscript 2+] complexes is described. We propose a set of experiments to synthesize and characterize two types of V(IV)O[superscript 2+] complexes. The experiment allows great flexibility and may be effectively used at a variety of levels and the activity…

A laboratory experiment was developed to introduce students in either an organic chemistry or biochemistry lab course to two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) spectroscopy using simple biomolecules. The goal of this experiment is for students to understand and interpret the information provided by a 2D NMR spectrum. Students are…

An asymmetric synthetic experiment that encompasses both diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity is described. In this experiment, Zn-mediated allylation of an ("R")-"N"-"tert"-butanesulfinyl imine is first performed to obtain either diastereomer using two different solvent systems, followed by oxidation of the…

This paper describes a set of demonstration school experiments where infrared radiation is detected using thermal sensitive foils. The possibility of using standard glass lenses for infrared imaging is discussed in detail. It is shown that with optic components made from glass, infrared radiation up to 2.5 µm of wavelength can be detected. The…

The large class sizes of first-year chemistry labs makes it challenging to provide students with hands-on access to instrumentation because the number of students typically far exceeds the number of research-grade instruments available to collect data. Multifunctional chemical analysis (MCA) systems provide a viable alternative for large-scale…

This laboratory experiment gives upper-division organic or biochemistry undergraduate students a comprehensive look at the synthesis, chemical characterization, self-assembly, and secondary structure determination of small, N-acylated peptides inspired by the protein structure of silkworm silk. All experiments can be completed in one 4 h lab…

Undergraduate laboratories generally teach an understanding of chemical reactivity using bulk or semimicroscale experiments with product isolation and subsequent chemical and spectroscopic analysis. In this study students were exposed to mass spectrometry as a means of chemical synthesis as well as analysis. The ionization method used, paper…

A term project was introduced in teaching advanced spectroscopy and notions of nanotechnology to chemistry students at the graduate level (M.Sc. and Ph.D.). This project could also be suited for an honor's thesis at the undergraduate level. Students were assigned a unique combination of nanoparticle synthesis (13 nm Au nanospheres, ~100 nm…

A self-directed independent synthesis experiment was developed for a third-year undergraduate organic laboratory. Students were provided with the CAS numbers of starting and target compounds and devised a synthetic plan to be executed over two 4.5 h laboratory periods. They consulted the primary literature in order to develop and carry out an…