Discussions on decolonizing the curriculum are common in Humanities and Social Science Faculties but still rare in the Physical Sciences. In this commentary, we describe the work we have conducted to begin decolonizing and diversifying our undergraduate chemistry curriculum. We also discuss what it means to decolonize chemistry and reflect on why…

A central practice in the discipline of organic chemistry is the ability to solve certain fundamental problems, including predicting reactivity, proposing mechanisms, and designing syntheses. These problems are encountered frequently by both students and practitioners, who need to utilize vast amounts of content knowledge in specific ways to…

Introductory Chemistry is a foundation course that provides students with the basic knowledge and skills to enable them to be successful in the subsequent General Chemistry courses. Despite being an introductory course, it is still challenging for many students, making it ideal for the implementation of various pedagogical initiatives. One such…

This paper reports on a study that sought to improve pre-service science teachers' performance in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) nomenclature of aliphatic hydrocarbons using flipped classroom instructional approach (FCA). The study employed a single group pre- and post-test action research design. The sample size…

Starting with a double replacement reaction in alcohol between Ni(H[subscript 2]O)[subscript 6](NO[subscript 3])[subscript 2] and NaX, students exploit solubility differences to produce a solution of NiX[subscript 2] and a NaNO[subscript 3] precipitate. They then synthesize a bis(N,N-diethylethylenediamine) Ni(II) complex with chloride, bromide,…

Spectroscopic characterization of molecules is typically reinforced in the organic chemistry teaching laboratory via the analysis of reaction products by NMR and IR, and initial coverage of these topics can include experiments involving the identification of unknown compounds. To combine the unknown identification component with common laboratory…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses are considered to be challenging for students and may present unique challenges for each domain. This study addresses a gap in the research literature by investigating the challenges students face in general and organic chemistry lecture courses. Students provided information…

A discovery-based experiment for the synthesis of arylpropiolic acids via carboxylation of arylacetylenic Grignard reagents was developed. This experiment shows the "dual utility" of Grignard reagents. In the synthesis of arylpropiolic acids reported here, we have demonstrated the use of a Grignard reagent as a base in a "Grignard…

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a rapid and powerful method for evaluating the pore structure of membranes. However, the application is limited due to the lack of appropriate training of engineers in electrochemistry and materials engineering. The introduction of laboratory practices can effectively improve the understanding of…

This article reports about a lesson series that focuses on engaging students in sustainability, plastics, and life cycle assessment (LCA). The purpose of the lesson series is to give students insights into sustainability in the context of plastics and to foster awareness of and insights into the benefits of the LCA method. The lesson series…

In recent years, the food industry has been undergoing major changes driven by new social and environmental demands. Nowadays, biodegradable packaging is perceived as the most feasible alternative for food packaging. Great efforts are being devoted to the development of new materials from agro-industrial wastes and byproducts that are opening new…

Traditional physical chemistry conceptions of reaction mechanism are formulated in terms of stationary points of an Arrhenius-style "energy profile" that differs sharply (in purpose and form) from the corresponding Robinson-style "arrow-pushing" mechanistic conceptions of organic chemistry. We show here how these diverse…

A slightly modified version of Lotka's mechanism that gives rise to sustained oscillations is shown to mimic observations of electrochemical oscillations reported during the dissolution of iron from iron electrodes in acidic media. The presentation of the modified mechanism includes only familiar chemical species and, in comparison to other…

Chemical safety is a discipline that cuts across all other chemical disciplines and also impacts other laboratory sciences. It is an essential part of chemistry and continues to evolve with the science it supports. This paper provides a short background about ACS's growing involvement with chemical safety education that stems from support from ACS…

The acid-catalyzed dehydration of regioisomeric methylcyclohexanols is a classic organic chemistry experiment featured in a variety of laboratory textbooks and literature. The mechanistic details of this reaction have received an inconsistent and occasionally inaccurate treatment, wherein the reaction has been described as a mix of E1, E2-like,…