Use of an ICP Spectrometer for the Undergraduate Materials Characterization Project

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Use of an Inductively Coupled Plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) is being integrated into the undergraduate instructional program in Analytical Chemistry. The ICP-AES is serving as a catalyst for the implementation of a Materials Characterization Project (MCP) into our Instrumental Analysis course in order to expose our chemistry majors to the challenges of real world analysis and to provide an improved grounding in the fundamentals of the "analytical process". The MCP involves the complete characterization of a commercially available product including the packaging. The students are given unique samples, which include, for example, a solar calculator, infant formula, and platinum spark plug or halogen lamp bulb and are asked to answer questions about the sample matrix, purity and packaging. The questions are chosen so that the student has the opportunity to use a variety of instrumental techniques as they characterize the polymer, inorganic, metallic and ceramic components down to a prescribed detection level. The undertaking of an actual analysis (sort of a reverse engineering) is intended to provide an experience which is very close to that encountered in an industrial setting. The students are challenged with the tasks of experimental design, technique choice and execution, all features which are a vast departure from pre-designed "canned" laboratory experiments. ICP-AES technology is at a mature level in a variety of fields and we seek to adapt this tool to our unique application of trace metals analysis of various components of the samples used in the MCP. We believe that this realistic laboratory experience will better prepare our chemistry majors by exposing them to the entire analytical process.