Although crystallography is a powerful structural elucidation technique, its incorporation within the undergraduate chemistry curriculum is often limited or overlooked.  As an alternative to a dedicated X-ray crystallography course, this presentation describes a variety of methods to introduce crystallography and X-ray diffraction to undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry students.  Development for the various components was supported and inspired by instructor participation at an NSF-funded workshop, Crystallography for Chemists, in the Chemistry Collaborations, Workshops and Communities of Scholars program (cCWCS).  The presentation will focus on efforts beyond the general chemistry curriculum including:  (a) utilizing small-molecule crystallography as a characterization method as part of required second-year undergraduate research projects; (b) introducing X-ray diffraction theory and practical aspects of crystallography within upper-level inorganic chemistry lecture; and (c) providing a hands-on experience synthesizing and structurally characterizing crystalline nanoparticles.  Outcomes of these methods and preliminary assessment data will also be presented.

Introducing crystallography and X-ray diffraction to undergraduate students in lab and lecture

2019 Spring National Meeting

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