Development of the Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Laboratory: Laser-Based System for Spectroscopic and Kinetic Studies

化学(12)仪器设备不足目前限制了该机构物理化学实验室的课程多样性。一项调查表明，许多学生没有学习物理化学的动机，挑战一直是制定鼓励这些学生的课程内容。该项目包括建立基于波长可调谐纳秒脉冲激光系统的新的物理化学课程。目标是：(1)让学生接触到整合了生物、物理和化学领域的跨学科主题，以及(2)包括关于快速动力学和电子松弛的主题。主题包括酶催化蔗糖的转化率，多肽或双嵌段共聚物的构象转变，猝灭剂对芳香化合物电子松弛的影响，溶剂对快速热流的响应，以及二苯甲酮的光解。这些主题演示了物理化学概念如何应用于生物系统，并介绍了实时探测化学事件的概念。本项目的核心仪器是基于激光参量振荡器(OPO)的激光光谱仪系统。这个基于OPO的系统包括单色仪、光电倍增管探测器、数字存储示波器和CCD摄像机。该系统可以引入以前从未研究过的实验方法：旋光法、散射实验、荧光寿命测量、热透镜量热法和激光-闪光光解。计划中的实验室实验是根据《物理化学杂志》和哈维穆德学院的项目改编的，该项目得到了美国国家科学基金会早期资金的支持。评估将由校外咨询委员会提供。

Chemistry (12) Insufficient instrumentation currently limits curriculum diversity in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory conducted at this institution. With a survey indicating that many students are not motivated to study physical chemistry, the challenge has been to develop course content which encourages these students. This project consists of setting up a new physical chemistry curriculum basedon a wavelength tunable nanosecond pulse laser system. The objectives are: (1) to expose students to interdisciplinary topics which integrate the fields of biology, physics, and chemistry, and (2) to include topics on fast kinetics and electronic relaxation. Topics will include the inversion rate of sucrose catalyzed by enzyme, conformational transition of polypeptides or diblock co-polymer, the effect of a quencher on the electronic relaxation of an aromatic compound, solvent response to fast heat flow, and photolysis of benzophenone. These topics demonstrate how physical chemistry concepts are applied to biological systems and introduce the concept of real time probing of a chemical event. Core instrument of this project is a Nd:YAG pumped Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) based laser spectrometer system. Included in this OPO-based system are monochromator, photomultiplier tube detector, digital storage oscilloscope, and a CCD camera. The proposed system enables introduction of previously unstudied experimental methods: optical rotation, scattering experiment, fluorescence lifetime measurement, thermal lens calorimetry, and laser-flash photolysis. Planned laboratory experiments are adaptations from the Journal of Physical Chemistry and the program at Harvey Mudd College which was supported by earlier NSF funding. The evaluation will be provided by an off-campus advisory committee.