With the advancements in broad-spectrum sunscreens and the recent bans on benzene-based sunscreens due to their environmental toxicity, there has been a push toward broad-spectrum sunscreens containing in organic active ingredients. In this study, a procedure was developed to analyze the particle size and size distribution of inorganic active…

A new undergraduate inorganic chemistry laboratory experiment is presented. An introduction of the spectrochemical series and ligand exchange is explored using the coordination complex dirhodium tetraacetate, Rh[subscript 2](OAc)[subscript 4]. Students have measured the absorption spectra of the Rh[subscript 2] complex in the presence of various…

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…

A biophysical-chemistry experiment, based on the reflectance spectroscopy for calculating the absorption and scattering coefficients of leaves is described. The results show that different plants species exhibit different values for both the coefficients because of their different pigment composition.

To help students develop an understanding of the proper use and function of spectrographs and monochromators we describe a student-assembled spectrograph using a "webcam" detector. The apparatus also works well as a low-cost demonstration, helping students make connections between an atomic spectrum observed by eye and a plot of the relative…