Shared Polymer Characterization Instruments for an Extended Physical Chemistry Laboratory

该项目包括为一个扩展的物理化学实验室开发一系列共享聚合物实验室实验。这一扩大的实验室需要三个学院(沃福德学院、匡威学院和南卡罗来纳大学斯帕坦斯堡分校)共同参与，在共享实验和学生合作的基础上打造一个现代物理化学实验室。这项工作的目标是将现代聚合物表征方法的实验引入目前正在运行的扩展物理化学实验室。该项目适应了美国国家科学基金会支持的关于开发和使用扩展化学实验室的项目(美国国家科学基金会-DUE 9452453和美国国家科学基金会-DUE 9751605)和多年来的项目(美国国家科学基金-DUE 9254351)。聚合物表征的实验包括使用差示扫描量热计和气体比重瓶。还包括一个共享的光散射实验。表征实验是在两位工业化学家的建议下设计的。这些实验集中在小分子和聚合物的性质之间的对比，以及在商业产品中加工聚合物对其形态从而影响其性能的方式。学生协作是通过电子邮件和在互联网上发布结果来完成的。这种由不同地点的学生共享信息的模式不仅有助于交流技能，而且是向从事这些材料工作的其他学生、化学家和科学家传播的平台。

This project involves the development of a series of shared polymer laboratory experiments for an extended physical chemistry laboratory. This extended lab entails the involvement of three colleges (Wofford College, Converse College, and the University of South Carolina at Spartansburg) working together to fashion a modern physical chemistry lab based upon shared experiments and student collaboration. The goal of this work is to introduce experiments in modern methods of polymer characterization to a currently operating extended physical chemistry laboratory.This project adapts the gains from NSF supported projects on development and use of extended chemistry laboratories (NSF-DUE 9452453 and NSF-DUE 9751605) and the POLYED project (NSF-DUE 9254351). Experiments for polymer characterization involve the use of a differential scanning calorimeter and a gas pycnometer. Also included is a shared light scattering experiment. The characterization experiments have been designed with the advice of two industrial chemists. These experiments focus on the contrast between the properties of small molecules and polymers, and on the way that processing a polymer in a commercial product affects its morphology and thus, its properties. Student collaboration is accomplished by electronic mail and by publishing results on the internet. This mode of information sharing by students at different locations not only facilitates communication skills, but serves as a dissemination platform to other students, chemists, and scientists working on these materials.