Integration of FT-NMR into the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum

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The chemistry department is purchasing a modem high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer to enable its students to learn modern techniques in structure determination. The instrument is being used at all levels of the curriculum and leads students to a more sophisticated understanding of the power of NMR techniques to unlock chemical secrets. Beginning with organic chemistry, students learn to interpret coupling patterns and chemical shifts in 1H and 13C spectra to identify molecular structure. At the next level, in Instrumental Methods, the introduction to Fourier transform and quantitative measurements provides a theoretical basis for better understanding FT-NMR. In upper-level courseq students gain experience in a rich array of techniques available to a multinuclear high-field NMR. For instance, biochemistry students study the stereochemistry of an enzymatic reaction and observe structural variations in protein structures, and in physical chemistry they determine the kinetics of an exchange reaction and study the thermodynamics of an equilibrium reaction. The presence of the FT-NMR spectrometer enhances the undergraduate research program and is used for routine analysis of products prepared in inorganic synthesis.