After a time away from the classrooms and laboratories due to the global pandemic, the return to teaching activities during the semester represented a challenge to both teachers and students. Our particular situation in a Microbial Physiology course was the necessity of imparting in shorter time, laboratory practices that usually take longer. This…

Liquid metals are widely applied in various fields, including chemistry, catalysis, energy storage, chemical sensing, and stretchable electronics, due to their unique deformabilities. However, their behavior under a rod or ring electrode has never been analyzed. Furthermore, research on the deformation behavior of eutectic Ga--In (EGaIn), the most…

A renewed experimental procedure for the unknown carbonyl experiment has been developed using hydrazone synthesis, thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis, and melting point determination to differentiate between structurally similar ketones and aldehydes in undergraduate organic chemistry practical courses. Benzaldehyde, p-tolualdehyde,…

In this two-session experiment for an organic chemistry lab, students prepare a macrocyclic host compound--namely, a pillar[5]arene--by means of a templated 1,4-dimethoxybenzene/formaldehyde cyclo-oligomerization (session 1), and then, they explore its molecular recognition properties toward the 1,8-diaminooctane guest with the aid of [superscript…

Discussion-based outcomes of organic chemistry laboratory experiments form a powerful tool to create a learning environment, facilitate teamwork, and build scientific skills and analytical ability for undergraduate science students. A Knoevenagel-type condensation reaction was selected to demonstrate these results by taking phenylacetonitrile and…

The laboratory plays a crucial role in science education. However, teacher education for pre-service teachers' design performance in the laboratory is still challenging. This study paved the way for redesigning traditional laboratory teaching into a student-centered approach: inquiry-based design thinking (IBDT). To investigate the impact of the…

Wheat powdery mildew is an important fungal pathogen of wheat with an obligatory biotrophic lifestyle (a parasite that can only develop on a living host). We investigated the genetics of this host-pathogen interaction by using phenotyping and PCR assays to detect genes in both wheat and powdery mildew, which are known determinants of the outcome…

Photochemical reactions are initiated by the absorption of light, triggering the chemical reactions and resulting in the formation of products. These reactions are generally performed using a freely available renewable source of energy-solar energy. Solar simulators mimic both the ultraviolet and visible regions of sunlight and hence can serve as…

Lakes are artists' pigments made from colorants bound to an inert substrate, usually hydrated aluminum oxide. Before the late 19th century, lakes were made from natural pigments extracted from plants and insects, extracted either directly from the dyestuff or indirectly from waste materials generated in the manufacture of dyed textiles. The first…

Most students enter college without any exposure to polymer science, which leads to the poor understanding and slow implementation of plastic recycling programs in the United States. To address the knowledge gap in chemical recycling, we introduce a 2-part laboratory experiment that was conducted in multiple high schools and public outreach events…

An undergraduate laboratory experiment has been developed for the synthesis of a reactive cross-linker that is useful in various highly visual demonstrations of organic reactivity, click chemistry, and biobased polymer synthesis. A triazolinedione-based cross-linker, which is known as a useful reagent for click chemistry, can be obtained from…

Removing the pollutants from various wastewater is crucial to the environment, ecology, and humans. However, the pollutants are generally removed by chemical decomposition, which not only consumes a lot of energy but also produces carbon emissions. Electrochemical flocculation is effective to extract pollutant molecules and heavy ions from…

Instruction in quantum mechanics is becoming increasingly important as the field is not only a key part of modern physics research but is also important for emerging technologies. However, many students regard quantum mechanics as a particularly challenging subject, in part because it is considered very mathematical and abstract. One potential way…

Calculating analytical uncertainties as a part of method validation is a relevant aspect of field and laboratory practices in instrumental analytical chemistry subjects, which usually require complex algorithms. This work describes the development and didactic use of an automatic and straightforward informatics tool, implemented in an Excel macro,…

Background: The adoption of virtual laboratories (VLs) has experienced a significant surge, catalysed by the global changes in the educational landscape, notably influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally supplementary to traditional in-person laboratory experiments, VLs swiftly transitioned into a primary source of hands-on laboratory…