Honors Organic Chemistry Laboratory

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Honors Organic Chemistry Laboratory

• Larry Augenstein and Allen M. Schoffstall
  Department of Chemistry
• University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Spring Semester, 2007
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• Honors apply for candidacy to the honors section,
  a second semester organic laboratory course.
  Students are responsible for organizing,
  initiating, orchestrating and completing the
  one-semester honors laboratory course. Students
  are expected to establish their own research
  goals with the assistance and guidance of the
  instructional team.

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Overview

• Laboratory learning goals and experiments
• Choice of projects
• Start by using articles from J. Chem. Ed.
• Projects
• History and background
• Focus for the laboratory
• Scope mechanistic, synthetic

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Overview

• Main expectations of students
• Planning stage
• Perform synthetic procedures
• Perform characterization
• Perform application of the synthetic product
• Student Outcomes

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Plan for Projects (Main Steps)

• Meet to discuss possible projects(1/17).
• Pick a project locate articles, do readings
• Do first 6 labs same as traditional section
• Submit preliminary proposal (2/5)
• Submit final proposal with timeline (2/25)
• Do project modify timeline as necessary.
• Prepare and present a research poster (4/23)

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Some Possible Projects

• Flutamide synthesis
• Guaifenesin synthesis
• Trihalobenzene
• Chalcones
• Azide cyclization
• Sunscreen synthesis

• Prozac synthesis
• Barbier Reaction
• Williamson reactions
• Heck reactions
• Cinnamate ester
• Oxone epoxides

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Sharpless, W. D., et al J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82,
1833
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Perrine, D. M., et al J. Chem. Educ. 1998, 75,
1266
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Breton, G. W., et al J. Chem. Educ. 1998, 75, 85.
Goodwin, T. E., et al J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76,
74.
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Vyvyan, J. R., et al J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79,
1119.
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Martin, W. B., et al J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 225.
Martin, W. B., et al J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 757.
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Student Response

• Used for one semester in the Spring of 2006
• Students have responded very favorably to the
  projects.
• Very good learning experience
• Very good student-teacher interaction
• Insight into how research is conducted
• Learning new instrumentation
• Student autonomy

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Observations

• Honors project experiments have merit for the
  organic chemistry laboratory.
• Students can be invigorated by participating in
  an honors project.
• The student presentations provide a culminating
  experience for students.

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References for Lab Research Emphases

• Davis, D. S., J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 1127.
• Kharas, G. B., J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 829.
• Karukstis, K.K. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 468.
• Rutledge, T. R. J. Chem. Educ. 1998, 75, 1575.
• Pienta, M. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1993, 70, 841.
• Slezak, J. J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 1257.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• This program was supported in part by a grant
  from NSF (CCLI A I Award 0411250). The grant
  enabled the purchase of two FTIR instruments and
  several preparative GCs, as well as the upgrading
  of the HP GC/MS system.