<br/>The Wilkes University ACS Student Chapter works to introduce our community to the concepts and guiding principals of green chemistry. Our goal is to overcome the misconception that chemists exclusively produce toxic substances and environmental pollutants. We, instead, aim to emphasize how chemistry can be used to benefit both our society and our planet. To this end, the chemistry club participates in seven college-wide outreach events each year. Additional activities are also held daily during National Chemistry Week and Chemistry Celebrate Earth Week. These events allow the chapter to expose young scientists to green chemistry. To make the field of green chemistry more appealing to students, craft-based activities are used to initiate a dialog between the chapter members and attendees. For example, the club has used the anthocyanins found in red cabbage or radish to color paper and dye fabric. This leads nicely into a conversation about the work chemists are doing to find safer dyes. Other projects focus on the reuse of waste products to make cleansers. Soap is made from the fatty acid waste produced by a general chemistry freezing point depression lab. To conclude the year, the polylactic acid cups used in earlier experiments are broken down to form lactic acid cleanser. This is then followed by a conversation about the role of green chemistry in the formation of biodegradable polymers. The green chemistry initiative set forth by the chapter not only introduces future scientists to the field of green chemistry, it also excites current members to further investigate this field. Members have implemented new green experiments into the upper division laboratories and are eager to find new activities that share their love of green chemistry.

Getting crafty: Artistic applications of green chemistry

2019 Spring National Meeting

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