Laser-Based Methods for Laboratory Instruction

该项目的目标是通过在几个高年级本科生实验室中使用激光作为工具，提供学生难以掌握的基本概念的实践机会，从而提高本科教学的质量。该项目建立在美国化学学会出版物《物理化学：开发动态课程》和同行评议的J. Chemical Ed上早期研究人员报告的激光教育早期发展的基础上。这些方法适合我们的计划，强调：(a)涉及分子电子和振动特性的量子力学理论的基本概念；(b)光与分子的相互作用。激光教育从学生从基本组件构建激光光谱仪系统开始。学生使用构建的激光光谱仪获取和解释拉曼光谱，检查比尔定律，估计溶液中的溶质浓度，确定弱酸的pKa，从吸收和发射数据构建雅布隆斯基图，确定发射寿命，并通过斯特恩-沃尔默技术检查电子转移猝灭。最后，学生设计、合成和表征用作分子传感器的分子。受影响的学生人数每年约为70人。活动集中在纳秒脉冲激光上。

The goal of this project is to enhance the quality of undergraduate instruction by using lasers in several upper undergraduate laboratories as a tool that provides hands-on exposure to fundamental concepts which students have difficulty grasping. This project builds on the earlier developments in laser education reported in the American Chemical Society Publication, Physical Chemistry: Developing a Dynamic Curriculum and by earlier investigators reporting in the peer-reviewed J. Chemical Ed. These methods are adapted to fit our program, which emphasizes: (a) basic concepts involving quantum mechanical theory related to electronic and vibronic properties of molecules and (b) the interaction of light with molecules. Laser education begins with the students building a laser spectrometer system from basic components. Students use the constructed laser spectrometer to obtain and interpret Raman Spectra, examine Beer's Law, estimate solute concentration in solution, determine the pKa of a weak acid, construct Jablonski diagrams from absorption and emission data, determine emission lifetimes, and examine electron transfer quenching by Stern-Volmer techniques. Finally, the students design, synthesize and characterize molecules for use as molecular sensors. The number of students affected is approximately seventy per year. The activities are centered on a nanosecond pulsed laser.