NMR Spectroscopy is one of the most widely used characterization techniques in chemistry. Despite pedagogical shifts towards active-learning and guided-inquiry approaches, incorporation of NMR spectrometers directly into undergraduate curriculum has remained largely limited due to mitigating factors of size, cost and availability of high-field spectrometers. As a result, students rarely gain hands-on access to this instrumentation, particularly in the beginning stages of their programs. An emergence of a new class of benchtop NMR spectrometers (42 – 60 MHz) that are affordable, portable and do not require weekly upkeep or maintenance can facilitate the introduction of this technique at all stages of chemical education. They also offer sufficient resolution and sensitivity for structure elucidation, reaction monitoring, and basic quantitation.<br/><br/>Herein, we describe methods for unique incorporation of the NMReady benchtop spectrometer into undergraduate laboratory experiments and illustrate how students can learn the proper technique to use an NMR spectrometer, prepare samples, monitor and characterize reaction mixtures.

Incorporation of benchtop NMR spectroscopy into undergraduate laboratories: An active-learning approach

249th National Meeting (2015)

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