This report describes a laboratory experiment for an undergraduate-level inorganic chemistry or biochemistry course involving the study of the kinetics of the catecholase activity of a synthetic nickel­(II)-oximate complex. A model substrate, 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol(DBC), undergoes aerobic oxidation to 3,5-di-tert-butylbenzoquinone (DBQ) in the…

Millions of people do not have access to clean drinking water; thus, cost-efficient water treatment systems are vital. Chemists, environmentalists, technicians, and engineers will be the professionals making breakthroughs in this industry. This laboratory experiment aims to introduce undergraduate students to the removal of pollutants from water…

In order to introduce students to the fascinating field of femtochemistry, we propose here a practical laboratory training course conceived for second-year master's students in chemistry. We describe the use of a broadband femtosecond transient absorption (pump-probe) experiment for monitoring a fast light-triggered chemical reaction in solution.…

We have developed a laboratory project in which students prepare liposomes, expose them to hyperosmotic and hypoosmotic solutions, and follow the resulting shrinking and swelling (respectively) with laser light scattering. Each light intensity transient can be fit to an exponential decline or rise, with the decay constant (k) and the amplitude…

Adsorption of methylene blue and malachite green was carried out using "Luffa cylindrica" sponges as adsorbing material. We provide a very illustrative exercise about the use of common natural materials requiring little preparation to solve environmental tasks in a routine laboratory situation such as using dyes. In addition, the…

Here we present a new undergraduate laboratory that will introduce the concepts of time-resolved spectroscopy and provide insight into the natural time scales on which chemical dynamics occur through direct measurement. A quantitative treatment of the acquired data will provide a deeper understanding of the role of quantum mechanics and various…

In 1972 Christian B. Anfinsen received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "…his work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation." The understanding of this principle is crucial for physical biochemistry students, since protein folding studies, bio-computing…

In selecting from a repertoire of traditional kinetics experiments, an instructor often has to choose among having students gain experience with the graphical method, the method of initial rates, or a temperature-dependent experiment in which students construct an Arrhenius plot. This paper presents an environmentally friendly bleaching reaction…

Quantum dots (QDs) are useful for demonstrating the particle-in-a-box (PIB) model utilized in quantum chemistry, and can readily be applied to a discussion of both thermodynamics and kinetics in an undergraduate laboratory setting. Modifications of existing synthetic procedures were used to create QDs of different sizes and compositions (CdS…

An effective way of teaching undergraduates a full complement of research skills is through a multiweek advanced laboratory experiment. Here we outline a comprehensive set of experiments adapted from current primary literature focusing on organic and inorganic synthesis, catalysis, reactivity, and reaction kinetics. The catalyst,…

Interdisciplinary experiments are being offered in upper-division chemistry laboratory courses in an attempt to encourage students to make a connection between techniques learned in one discipline to affirm chemical principles that form the basis of chemical reactions in another chemistry discipline. A new interdisciplinary experiment is described…

The solvent influence on the absorption spectra and the kinetics of the back reaction of the 1',3'-dihydro-1',3',3'-trimethyl-6-nitrospiro(2H-1-benzopyran-2,2'-2H-indole) (6-NO2-BIPS) has been investigated by means of temperature-controlled, UV-visible spectroscopic measurements. The back reaction process was proved to follow first-order kinetics…

Teaching complex chemistry concepts such as kinetics using inquiry-based learning techniques can be challenging in a high school classroom setting. Access to expensive laboratory equipment such as spectrometers is typically limited and most reaction kinetics experiments have been designed for advanced placement (AP) or first-year undergraduate…

Enzyme kinetics is an essential part of a chemistry curriculum, especially for students interested in biomedical research or in health care fields. Though the concept is routinely performed in undergraduate chemistry/biochemistry classrooms using other spectroscopic methods, we provide an optimized approach that uses a real-time monitoring of the…

Undergraduate students in the teaching laboratory have successfully used N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) as organocatalysts for the acetylation of primary alcohols, despite the high water sensitivity of uncomplexed ("free") NHCs. The free NHC readily reacted with chloroform, resulting in an air- and moisture-stable adduct that liberates…