Technology Report pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Structural Analysis from Classroom to Laboratory Julien Wist*,† and Luc Patiny‡ †
Departamento de Química, Universidad del Valle, AA 25360, Cali, Colombia Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engeneering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
‡
ABSTRACT: The analysis of spectroscopic data to elucidate chemical structures requires intensive practice. A Web portal is described that allows uploading, storing, simulating, and sharing of spectroscopic data. The Web portal can also be used to create, embed, and solve exercises online. This tool and a demo course for Moodle are available online at no cost.
KEYWORDS: Second-Year Undergraduate, Upper-Division Undergraduate, Chemoinformatics, Computer-Based Learning, Distance Learning/Self Instruction, IR Spectroscopy, Mass Spectrometry, NMR Spectroscopy, Spectroscopy
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nly few rules, found in many textbooks, are necessary to interpret spectra (IR, MS, and NMR). However, as pointed out by Merlic and co-workers,1 rules are not enough and students need to acquire practical experience by solving problems of increasing complexity. A Web portal, which is accessible online free of charge,2 allows instructors to manage spectral information online and to create exercises and embed them into any teaching platform such as Moodle.3 Once done, students can solve the spectra with the help of a Java Applet.4 Various types of exercises are available allowing for smooth progression of the students. Starting from simple monoisotopic mass calculation and infrared function determination, the students can train themselves on signal recognition, spectra assignment (complete or partial), structure elucidation, simulation of spin system, and so forth. Those new teaching features are available from any browser and, apart from Java 1.6, do not require any installation. The generation of a canonized answer code makes this tool compatible with most of the teaching platforms by copying this code into the answer field.
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REFERENCES
(1) Merlic, C. A.; Fam, B. C.; Miller, M. M. WebSpectra: Online NMR and IR Spectra for Students. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 118−120. (2) Mylims Home Page. http://elearning.mylims.org (accessed May 2012). (3) Moodle Home Page. http://moodle.com (accessed May 2012). (4) Banfi, D.; Patiny, L. www.nmrdb.org: Resurrecting and Processing NMR Spectra On-line. Chimia 2008, 62, 280−281.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank Reiner Dieden for stimulating discussions and Colciencias−Renata (RC Colciencias 561-2009) for funding. © 2012 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: May 31, 2012 1083
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed200476h | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1083−1083
