Use of an ICP Spectrometer for the Undergraduate Materials Characterization Project

电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱仪（ICP-AES）的使用正在整合到分析化学的本科教学计划中。ICP-AES是作为一个催化剂的材料表征项目（MCP）的实施到我们的仪器分析过程中，以暴露我们的化学专业的真实的世界分析的挑战，并提供了一个改进的基础“分析过程”。 MCP涉及市售产品（包括包装）的完整表征。学生们得到独特的样品，其中包括，例如，太阳能计算器，婴儿配方奶粉，铂火花塞或卤素灯泡，并要求回答有关样品矩阵，纯度和包装的问题。这些问题的选择，使学生有机会使用各种仪器技术，因为他们表征聚合物，无机，金属和陶瓷成分下降到规定的检测水平。进行实际分析（某种逆向工程）的目的是提供一种非常接近工业环境中遇到的经验。学生们面临着实验设计，技术选择和执行的任务，所有这些功能都与预先设计的“罐装”实验室实验有很大的不同。 ICP-AES技术在各个领域都处于成熟水平，我们寻求使该工具适应我们对MCP中所用样品的各种成分进行痕量金属分析的独特应用。我们相信，这种现实的实验室经验将更好地准备我们的化学专业，让他们接触到整个分析过程。

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.