FT-NMR: Hands-On Access In the Undergraduate Curriculum

Grand Valley State University, Allendale MI

Investigators

Abstract

Chemistry (12) The importance of Fourier Transform-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FT-NMR) spectroscopy in modern chemistry is reflected in the 1999 American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training guidelines for the undergraduate organic chemistry curriculum which recommends hands-on training in 1 H and 13 C NMR for undergraduate students. In addition, more advanced pulse sequences such as 2-D NMR have become increasingly vital tools for the modern chemist. In order to incorporate these recommendations, the Department of Chemistry has purchased a 300 MHz instrument capable of teaching the broad range of experiments that comprise modern FT-NMR. We are infusing this technology across our undergraduate curriculum in a series of experiments, adapted from the current literature (research and educational), that is designed to progressively introduce a series of 1-D and 2-D NMR techniques. In doing so, we are adapting the approach recently instituted at Florida State University (CCLI A&I DUE-9972198), adjusting for the size of our student population and tuned to existing strengths in our curriculum. The instrument is being used first by students in their sophomore-level Organic Chemistry sequence to interpret and to obtain 1 H and 13 C spectra, then in a progressive fashion in Qualitative Organic Analysis, Physical Chemistry, Advanced Synthetic Methods, and Undergraduate Research in which more sophisticated techniques and the multi-nuclear nature of FT-NMR are explored. Outcomes include students with extensive hands-on experience in a variety of NMR techniques. Additionally, we are studying the pedagogy of teaching NMR across the curriculum and are in the process of producing a web accessible database of spectral FID's emphasizing 2-D NMR as a problem-solving tool. The database is providing a unique resource to other universities that may wish to implement 2-D NMR spectroscopy into their curriculum but that lack the instrumental capabilities to do so.