The Inorganic Chemistry Lab at SWOSU has been converted to a project format. Goals of the laboratory course are to provide an acceptably broad and rich laboratory experience in the techniques of Inorganic Chemistry; and to produce publishable-quality novel research results. Students carry out a multi-step macrocyclic ligand synthesis, characterizing each synthetic step by Mass Spectrometry and NMR Spectroscopy. Next, the ligands are complexed to transition metal ions with each student having a unique metal-ligand combination. The balance of the lab consists of students characterizing their complexes through mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and crystal growth (and X-ray structure analysis, if warranted); NMR, IR, and UV-Vis spectroscopies; and conductance, magnetic moment, and cyclic voltammetry measurements. Each student prepares a journal-formatted manuscript and a poster presentation on their results. Two published articles in peer-reviewed journals, and several more manuscripts in progress, have resulted from this research/lab experience.

Can publishable research results be produced in effective undergraduate chemistry labs? Evaluation of a project format in the advanced inorganic chemistry lab at Southwestern Oklahoma State University

247th National Meeting (2014)

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