Assessing final-year practical work through group projects; A further study

The use of a group-based approach to project working has been shown to provide significant advantage to students in terms of project outcomes, motivation and engagement. The Department of Chemistry at the University of Reading has recently explored the use of group projects for final year practical work. In this model, students are presented with a research problem that they investigate within a team of three to five students. Students are expected to divide the work and share results in a manner that closely resembles project working in industry. This paper will report the experiences and attitudes of final-year BSc students towards this group-based approach, and outline the self-identified skills development of these students

Recent advances towards the inclusion of flow chemistry within the undergraduate practical class curriculum

The expansion of flow chemistry as a means for undertaking a chemical reaction has rapidly developed over recent years. When teaching chemistry to undergraduate students, one aspect that has to be addressed is the core subject-knowledge required to function as a chemist, usually taught through lectures. In addition, chemistry is a practical subject, therefore the laboratory-based skills that students learn and will require upon graduation also need consideration. Traditionally, batch chemistry has dominated the practical laboratory curriculum because, traditionally, when students transferred to an industrial setting completing a reaction using batch chemistry was the norm. However, in recent years flow chemistry has started to become more ubiquitous within the pharmaceutical industry and fine chemical production, therefore undergraduate programs have started to amend their practical provision to reflect this. In recent years there have been a number of practical classes designed that utilise continuous flow analysis and flow injection analysis procedures, as well as construction of cheap microfluidic chips for use both within the undergraduate curriculum and to engage high school students with chemistry. However, the number of experiments that can be used upon preparative scale are much smaller in number. Examples include Fischer esterification, methylation of 2-napthol, Hofmann rearrangement, Knoevenagel condensation, electrophilic aromatic substitution, Paal-Knorr pyrrole synthesis, Diels-Alder cycloaddition and synthesis of azo dyes and disulfides. Some examples showcasing more recently developed reactions are discussed further in this Spotlight but it should be noted that there may be other applications under development. This field is in its infancy therefore this Spotlight should not be considered exhaustive but a starting point for any practical class developer looking to include examples of flow chemistry. As this field develops, it is likely that more reactions that utilise flow chemistry and are suitable for an undergraduate laboratory will be disclosed over the coming years

A hydrazine-free Wolff–Kishner reaction suitable for an undergraduate laboratory

A Wolff–Kishner reaction that does not require hydrazine has been developed. The reaction sequence has two steps; formation of a carbomethoxyhydrazone from methyl hydrazinocarboxylate and acetophenone, then decomposition of this intermediate by treatment with potassium hydroxide in triethylene glycol. Purification is by filtration through a plug of silica encased in the barrel of a plastic syringe. The reaction sequence can be completed within a day-long laboratory class (8 hours)

Methyl hydrazinocarboxylate as a practical alternative to hydrazine in the Wolff–Kishner reaction

Herein we describe a facile protocol for the reduction of aromatic ketones and aldehydes to the corresponding methylene unit. The procedure involves isolation of a carbomethoxyhydrazone intermediate that is easily decomposed to the reduced product without the requirement for large quantities of pernicious hydrazine

Encouraging independent thought and learning in first year practical classes

The transition from A-level to degree-level practical classes then to a research project, hence from dependent learner to independent researcher, is a hurdle that all students face when studying for a chemistry degree. This can be daunting so any innovations that aid this transition are of great value. At the University of Reading, the first year practical course has been redesigned to facilitate this transition by embedding independent thought and experimentation across all chemistry disciplines (introductory, organic, inorganic and physical). Examples of experiments that provide opportunities for independent student investigation, along with student perceptions of the experiments of the course, are given. Using this model for practical-class delivery, student engagement, confidence, independence and ultimately preparedness for year 2 were improved

Anion recognition and transport properties of sulfamide-, phosphoric triamide- and thiophosphoric triamide-based receptors

Studies of sulfamide, phosphoric triamide and thiophosphoric triamidebased organocatalysts show that the phosphorus containing systems are effective new hydrogen bonding motifs for the recognition and transport of anions

New furoquinoline alkaloid and flavanone glycoside derivatives from the leaves of Oricia suaveolens and Oricia renieri (Rutaceae)

Fractionation of the methanol extract of the leaves of Oricia renieri and Oricia suaveolens (Rutaceae) led to the isolation of 13 compounds including the hitherto unknown furoquinoline alkaloid named 6,7-methylenedioxy-5-hydroxy-8-methoxydictamnine (1) and a flavanone glycoside named 5-hydroxy-40-methoxy-7-O-[a-Lrhamnopyranosyl(1000→500)-b-D-apiofuranosyl]-flavanoside (2), together with 11 known compounds (3–13). The structures of the compounds were determined by comprehensive analyses of their 1D and 2D NMR, mass spectral data and comparison. All compounds isolated were examined for their activity against human carcinoma cell lines. The alkaloids 1, 5, 12, 13 and the phenolic 2, 8, 11 tested compounds exhibited non-selective moderate cytotoxic activity with IC50 8.7–15.9mM whereas compounds 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 showed low activity

Tripodal molecules for the promotion of phosphoester hydrolysis

A series of low molecular weight tripodal amide/histidine-containing compounds (1–2) have been synthesised and shown to increase the rate of bis-(p-nitrophenyl) phosphate (BNPP) and soman (GD) breakdown in buffered aqueous solution