Since 2013, the number of publications on flipped learning within chemistry have steadily increased. However, most of these studies focus on flipped course reforms within individual institutions, while the outcomes of any learning environment are dependent on how the environment is structured and the degree to which students interact with its…

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of acetol (IUPAC: 1-hydroxy-2-propanone), a species formed upon thermal liquefaction of biomass, can be achieved using inexpensive objects: filter paper, coins, batteries, salts, and water. This simple example demonstrates that "green" chemical transformations can be achieved with familiar items and helps…

The lifetime of the excited state of a material is essential for characterizing its photophysical and photochemical processes and substantially affects the quantum efficiencies of its luminescence (fluorescence or phosphorescence) and photo(catalytic) reactions. However, undergraduate students are much more likely to do steady-state, rather than…

Radical chemistry is an essential part of the organic chemistry curriculum. Free radical halogenation experiments provide an excellent opportunity to introduce important topics related to the outcome and mechanism of organic reactions. In this communication, a green photochemically activated benzylic bromination of p-toluic acid is described. In…

The prompt transfer of cutting-edge science into students' curricula is a challenging task. Often research experiments are too complex or expensive to be translated into a secondary or tertiary education setting. Herein, we introduce a laboratory experiment that translates the recently developed research technique of a wavelength dependent,…

Acid--base chemistry is an important and challenging topic for virtually all chemistry students. Recent works have focused on conceptually linking molecular and symbolic representations to experimental evidence for many chemical concepts. In this work we describe a laboratory exercise designed to address students' conceptual challenges regarding…

This report presents a miniproject for teaching sustainability through the production of adsorbents from sewage sludge. The activity was tested during the Physical Chemistry II portion of an Agro-Industrial Engineering Course and lasted 4 weeks. The activities developed by the students included preparing the adsorbents ("in natura,"…

This paper describes an upper-division undergraduate exercise involving the synthesis and iodometric and infrared spectroscopic analysis of the peroxide double salt [Zn(NH[subscript 3])[subscript 4]][Mo(O[subscript 2])[subscript 4]]. Here, iodometric methods are employed to determine the peroxide content of the compound, a procedure widely used…

This paper describes a first-year undergraduate exercise involving the synthesis of an "unknown" polyiodide salt, (NMe[subscript 4])[I[subscript 5]], and the determination of its formula using the classic iodine-thiosulfate (iodometric) titration. The exercise introduces students to simple synthetic and titrimetric techniques, assists…

Due to a growing awareness of environmental issues, green chemistry concepts are increasingly being incorporated into the undergraduate organic chemistry lecture and laboratory component. This minireview summarizes environmentally friendly organic chemistry experiments suitable for undergraduate laboratories. Whenever feasible, LD[subscript 50]…

Study abroad experiences, relatively rare in chemistry programs and encouraged by the American Chemical Society, are a way to advance the cultural competence of students. We describe a study abroad experience that includes an upper level chemistry course on fermentation. Many articles have described the integration of fermentation into lecture and…

Capstone teaching laboratory activities can serve as a crucial part of the undergraduate learning experience. With this in mind, a laboratory activity that combines synthesis and multiple characterization techniques has been developed for an upper-division, laboratory-based inorganic course. Complexes of Cu(II) and Ni(II) of the amino acid glycine…

A five day activity that involves the construction and characterization of a small car whose motion is controlled by the vitamin C clock reaction is presented. The purpose of the activity is to engage first-year Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students not majoring in the chemical sciences. Throughout the activity students…

Undergraduate science students are known to struggle in introductory courses and often focus their studying efforts on memorization-based, algorithmic processes instead of focusing on gaining a conceptual understanding of the course material. To address this issue, the current study investigates the effects training undergraduate chemistry…

Students were asked to each create an infographic on the basis of one of their host department's research articles as a new exercise within the "science communication" training program of the University of Leicester's undergraduate chemistry degree. The use of local articles helped to connect students to the research of their lecturers,…