Since 2010, the University of California at Berkeley has been modifying general chemistry courses for both majors and non-majors to include experiment modules related to green and sustainable chemistry. The freshman chemistry curriculum includes a strong emphasis on analytical chemistry and use of instrumentation. Two experimental modules will be presented which involve greener extraction techniques, greener chromatographic separations and the use of calibration curves to determine the efficiency of extraction. One module uses liquid CO2 to extract limonene from orange peel followed by gas chromatography using an internal standard. The second module involves thyme leaf extracts and quantitative analysis using HPLC and standard addition. Thymol, one of the compounds in thyme leaf extracts, has antibacterial properties and is used in many green cleansers on the market. The experiment includes an assay to test the antibacterial properties of thymol. Both experiments introduce green chemistry concepts while maintaining analytical rigor.

Developing greener analytical chemistry experiments for general chemistry and quantitative analysis at the University of California, Berkeley

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.