A straightforward protocol for the preparation of the colorful and air-stable diphenyl ditelluride is described. In one laboratory session, students isolate their product and characterize it via melting point determination, mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy ([superscript 1]H, [superscript 13]C­{[superscript 1]H}, and [superscript…

We here propose a simple and fast hands-on activity requiring limited equipment, to introduce students of various levels (bachelor's or high school) and backgrounds (from science to arts) to the chemistry of color. The different colors of stained glass are replicated through the deposition, on ordinary glass slides, of silica coatings colored by…

Lecture-only chemistry courses without a dedicated laboratory component present a significant challenge for instructors to reinforce course content with hands-on learning experiences. This is especially true for lecture courses in which students are unable to directly visualize and operate instrumentation. Herein, we present an in-class activity…

An easily constructed and inexpensive polarimeter with an optical rotation angle resolution of about 0.5° is presented. It is made from small pieces of polarizing film, 2 LEDs, a protractor, and a few wires, all held in place with plastic interlocking toy bricks, such as Lego bricks. The instrument was used to demonstrate the optical rotation of…

In recent years, nanotechnology has been one of the major subjects of scientific and technological research. Currently, several applications of nanotechnologies are already available on the market. Particularly relevant are the fields of new materials and sensors, which have excellent potential future applications in the biomedical field. This…

In this experiment, students perform an air-free synthesis of three dichlorophosphinenickel(II) compounds, NiCl[subscript 2](PPh[subscript 3])[subscript 2], NiCl[subscript 2](PCy[subscript 3])[subscript 2], and NiCl[subscript 2](DPPE), using NiCl[subscript 2]·6H[subscript 2]O and the appropriate phosphine as the precursors. These colorful nickel…

This experiment describes a simple protocol for teaching acid-base titrations using potentiometry, conductivity, and/or photometry to determine end points without an added indicator. The chosen example examines the titratable acidity of a red wine with NaOH. Wines contain anthocyanins, the colors of which change with pH. Importantly, at the…

Metabolomics applies multivariate statistical analysis to sets of high-resolution spectra taken over a population of biologically derived samples. The objective is to distinguish subpopulations within the overall sample population, and possibly also to identify biomarkers. While metabolomics has become part of the standard analytical toolbox in…

Without question, one of the most useful tools an astronomer or physicist can employ to study the universe is spectroscopy. However, for students in introductory physics or astronomy classes, spectroscopy is a relatively abstract concept that combines new physics topics such as thermal radiation, atomic physics, and the wave and particle nature of…

This laboratory experiment provides undergraduate students enrolled in organic chemistry the opportunity to design and synthesize their own peptide, which is then tested for antimicrobial activity. After reading a primary scientific paper on antimicrobial peptides, students design and synthesize their own hexapeptide that they hypothesize will…

The binding constant and stoichiometry ratio for the formation of iron(II)-(1,10-phenanthroline) or iron(II)-o-phenanthroline complexes has been determined by a combination of a low-cost analytical method using a smartphone and a molecular modeling method as a laboratory experiment designed for analytical and physical chemistry courses. Intensity…

A concept of the turbidimetric method for determining the concentration of ethanol in water-ethanol mixtures is described. A closed sample cell containing the analyte was heated to achieve vapor saturation and subsequent condensation. As the condensation occurred, the decrease in percentage transmittance with time due to light scattering was…

First-order kinetic decay rates can be obtained by measuring the time-dependent reflection spectra of ultraviolet-sensitive objects as they returned from their excited, colored state back to the ground, colorless state. In this paper, a procedure is described which provides an innovative and unique twist on standard, undergraduate, kinetics…

A multiday laboratory experiment was designed to integrate inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the context of protein quantification into an advanced practical course in analytical and environmental chemistry. Graduate students were familiar with the analytical methods employed, whereas the combination of bioanalytical assays…

Modern undergraduate organic chemistry textbooks provide detailed discussion of stoichiometric Cr- and Mn-based reagents for the oxidation of alcohols, yet the use of such oxidants in instructional and research laboratories, as well as industrial chemistry, is increasingly avoided. This work describes a laboratory exercise that uses ambient air as…