Patel Arya, Arik Michael, Sarkar Amrita
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, United States.
J Chem Educ. 2024 Mar 26;101(4):1686-1695. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c01194. eCollection 2024 Apr 9.
Polymer science is receiving wider acceptance in the organic chemistry community; thus, it is imperative to include it in the undergraduate organic chemistry curriculum. Despite the ever-increasing popularity of the topic of polymer chemistry in undergraduate curricula, a comprehensive laboratory experiment module describing a polypeptide synthesis by ring-opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride (NCA ROP) and a homopolymer synthesis by activators-regenerated by electron-transfer for atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP) has yet to be proposed. Herein, we report a semester-long, ten week undergraduate laboratory module focusing on the synthesis and analytical characterization of polyalanine and polystyrene for an advanced organic chemistry class. Students received hands-on-experiences in synthesizing polymers followed by their characterization via proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy, electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), thermogravimetry (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which are not well-presented in the typical organic chemistry curricula. These engaging hands-on lessons in the newly designed laboratory module not only increase students' interests in an interdisciplinary environment of organic chemistry and polymer science but also cultivate their research interests and communication skills and promote critical thinking.
高分子科学在有机化学领域正得到更广泛的认可；因此，将其纳入本科有机化学课程势在必行。尽管高分子化学主题在本科课程中越来越受欢迎，但尚未有人提出一个全面的实验模块，该模块要描述通过N-羧基环内酸酐开环聚合（NCA ROP）合成多肽以及通过电子转移再生催化剂的原子转移自由基聚合（ARGET ATRP）合成均聚物。在此，我们报告了一个为期十周的本科实验模块，该模块贯穿一个学期，针对高级有机化学课程，重点是聚丙氨酸和聚苯乙烯的合成及分析表征。学生在合成聚合物方面获得了实践经验，随后通过质子核磁共振（H NMR）光谱、电喷雾电离质谱（ESI-MS）、凝胶渗透色谱（GPC）、热重分析（TGA）、差示扫描量热法（DSC）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）对聚合物进行表征，而这些在典型的有机化学课程中并未得到很好的呈现。新设计的实验模块中这些引人入胜的实践课程不仅提高了学生在有机化学和高分子科学跨学科环境中的兴趣，还培养了他们的研究兴趣和沟通能力，并促进了批判性思维。
