GC/FT/IR/Raman in Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories

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This project involves the purchase of a gas chromatographic, Fourier-transform, infrared Raman spectrometer for use in the undergraduate teaching laboratories. The instrument has a modern data system which is being connected to the computer network, allowing exposure of large numbers of students to practical modern separations and vibrational spectroscopy. The degree of exposure and `hands-on` use of the instrument begins at the freshman level and increases to the senior level. The department is very excited about the possibility of initial student contact in the freshman chemistry honors section, for which a spectroscopic experiment on greenhouse gases is being proposed. In the organic laboratory, students separate mixtures and identify compounds that they have synthesized. Students in the physical chemistry laboratory carry out experiments on hydrogen bonding that require Raman capabilities and experiments involving IR and Raman selection rules. The inorganic chemistry students can routinely use the instrument to study the IR and Raman spectra of a number of organometallic complexes that they have synthesized. In the analytical laboratories, students extract a simulated urine sample and carry out a GC/IR drug screen. Existing university IR spectrometers cannot handle the large numbers of students or the more sophisticated experiments proposed even at the sophomore level. However, careful choice of experiments, efficient use of instrument time, and easy data access through the network enables the department to expose many students to practical, `hands-on` separations and vibrational spectroscopy.