The pharmacologically active lignans sesamin and sesamolin are minor components of sesame oil and ingredients in OTC dietary supplement capsules. We report an introductory undergraduate organic laboratory experiment combining natural product isolation and spectral analysis in which students isolate a mixture of sesamin and sesamolin by either (1)…

The carbonyl group of an aldehyde or ketone reacts with different types of nucleophiles through a nucleophilic addition reaction. When the nucleophile is water, the product obtained is a "gem"-diol or geminal diol. This functionalization is unstable and quickly reverts to the parent carbonyl group. The chemistry of "gem"-diols…

The number of studies analyzing chemistry textbooks has steadily increased over the years and has notably surged in the past decade. In this literature review, we examine the research literature on chemistry textbooks. The review spans 40 years of research (from 1981 to 2021) and includes 79 studies published in over 20 different journals,…

Enzyme-like catalysis is the use of artificial catalysts to catalyze chemical reactions, which has the characteristics of enzymatic catalysis, such as high selectivity, high efficiency, and mild reaction conditions. In recent years, 2D materials, thickness ranging from a single to several atomic layers, have become a hot research topic in the…

A one-pot multicomponent synthesis of unsymmetrical indole-substituted methane derivative based on two consecutive reactions of p-methylbenzaldehyde with N-methylindole and 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione is described as an experiment that was carried out by second-year undergraduate chemistry students individually in a laboratory classroom. The…

In today's global economy, the origin of the food we eat is becoming more and more difficult to identify. Verifying the authenticity of products to protect supply chains is a complicated problem that requires a multidisciplinary approach. Chemical authentication of foodstuffs often includes a mass spectrometer detector; however, they are costly…

S[subscript N]2 reactions are of fundamental importance in introductory organic chemistry courses, and a number of experiments suitable for the first-semester undergraduate organic lab have been previously reported. Most of these experiments have used alkyl halides as electrophiles, but alkyl halides are often less than ideal for reasons of…

There is emerging recognition that mechanistic reasoning about scientific phenomena as well as developing an interdisciplinary understanding of science are valuable for student success. Our team of chemistry, biology, and teacher education researchers strives to support students in their interdisciplinary learning and engage them in causal…

Discussions of the primary literature are an important part of undergraduate education, and much work has been done to develop methods of integrating the literature into the curriculum. Examples include individual single-article discussion activities, literature-based courses, and regular journal club events. While many published examples focus on…

A [beta]-lactam, the core structure unit of clinically important antibiotics such as penicillin and cephalosporin, is one of the most commonly encountered four-membered heterocycles in organic chemistry and is widely used in medicine and biochemistry. The Kinugasa reaction, a copper­(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition of a terminal alkyne with a nitrone,…

We describe an experiment in which students use research-grade instrumentation to collect gas adsorption data in triplicate in a single 3 h laboratory period. The experiment reinforces the thermodynamic concepts taught in upper level physical chemistry courses and hands-on experience with instrumentation used in research laboratories. The speed of…

This article describes an enrichment and extension of a published applied chemistry experiment involving the use of distilled fragrant compounds of natural plants to prepare facial toner. The original protocol failed to consider quality evaluation of the self-prepared facial toner. Herein, an additional experimental section is included for…

The area near the electrode surface is called the diffusion layer, and to understand electrochemistry, it is crucial that students have a knowledge of the phenomena occurring at the diffusion layer. Here, we present a demonstration and activity to visualize and analyze the expansion of a micrometer-sized diffusion layer. The electrode process…

Catalysis is not only one of the most crucial principles of Green Chemistry but also one of the most used industrial strategies to improve yields and to shift to more environmental-friendly processes. Due to the great importance of catalysis, we propose a laboratory activity related to heterogeneous catalysis courses (upper and undergraduate…

This paper provides seven topics on sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO[subscript 3]) and its ions for readers looking for familiar material phenomena to strengthen students' understanding of the chemical concepts of thermodynamics. The first concept is the ideal gas law, followed by the van't Hoff equation, Gibbs energy, pH change, chemical…