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…

Hands-on learning is a staple in high school science education, as it provides students with a fast-learning curve and a great degree of field competency. However, due to the safety risks associated with high school students in university chemistry laboratory settings, high school students rarely engage in authentic hands-on chemical learning. To…

Polymer chemistry is an important subject in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. It is required for ACS-certified degrees and significantly connects to real world issues like the plastic waste crisis. While some concepts of polymer chemistry can be incorporated into lecture courses, students' understanding of material properties and…

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…

Mastery of core chemistry content is a degree requirement for several STEM majors. Gatekeeper courses, like general and physical chemistry, have a history of weeding out struggling students, and often underrepresented groups underperform. While gatekeeper courses ensure students are prepared for STEM degrees, it is essential they do not create…

A multi-instrument approach has been applied to the efficient identification of polymers in an upper-division undergraduate instrumental analysis laboratory course. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) is used in conjunction with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to identify 18 polymer samples and…

Volatile compounds from polymeric materials such as weatherstripping were identified by solid-phase microextraction (SPME), a solvent-free analytical method, coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These compounds, originating from additives and fillers used in weatherstripping processing, were mostly polycyclic aromatic…

Despite the prevalence of polymers in modern everyday life, there is little introduction to the topic in science education throughout primary or secondary schooling in the United States. Of the few states that do include polymer education, this is only found at the high school level, primarily in biology or chemistry. Over the past year, we have…

Catalysis with transition-metal complexes is a part of the inorganic chemistry curriculum and a challenging topic for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. A hands-on teaching aid has been developed for use during conventional lectures to help students understand these catalytic reactions. A unique method of illustrating the…

Hydrogels of the so-called smart polymers or environment-sensitive polymers are important modern biomaterials. Herein, we describe a hands-on activity to explore the pH-responsive characteristics of hydrogels using a commercially available ionic soft contact lens that is a hydrogel of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-"co"-methacrylic…

A simple and effective hands-on classroom activity designed to illustrate basic polymer concepts is presented. In this activity, students build primary structures of homopolymers and different arrangements of monomers in copolymer using paper clips as monomers. The activity supports formation of a basic understanding of polymer structures,…

Polymer science represents an important area in industrial and research laboratories for chemists and material scientists. However, experiments involving polymers are uncommon in chemistry and material science curricula; therefore, an experiment involving polymers has been developed. This experiment has been used to teach fabrication of polymer…

The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) experiment, most often done in the undergraduate analytical instrumentation laboratory course, generally illustrates reversed-phase chromatography using a commercial C[subscript]18 silica column. To avoid the expense of periodic column replacement and introduce a choice of columns with different…

The internal standard method is widely applied in quantitative analyses. However, most analytical chemistry textbooks either omit this topic or only provide examples of a single-point internal standardization. An experiment designed to teach students how to prepare an internal standard calibration curve is described. The experiment is a modified…

A simple horizontal axis wind turbine can be easily constructed using a 1.5 l PET plastic bottle, a compact disc and a small dynamo. The turbine operates effectively at low wind speeds and has a rotational speed of 500 rpm at a wind speed of about 14 km h[superscript -1]. The wind turbine can be used to demonstrate the relationship between open…