Innovation and Scholarship
The July 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: connecting art and energy, solar cells, examining organic chemistry students’ understandings, computer-based learning, molecular symmetry and visualization, inquiry-based learning, safety management, biochemistry, watching the archive: chemistry goes to the movies.
Cover: Connecting Art and Energy
The solar energy received on Earth is more than enough to renewably power the entire world's energy demand today. To help accelerate capture of this energy, luminescent solar concentrators (LSC) are being developed to reduce the cost and improve the aesthetics of solar harvesting systems. In Luminescent Solar Concentrator Paintings: Connecting Art and Energy, Alexander Renny, Chenchen Yang, Rebecca Anthony, and Richard R. Lunt present a demonstration that introduces students to the concepts of solar energy and LSC by turning artwork into electricity-generating solar concentrators. Students design LSC devices by painting newly developed colorful luminescent paints on plastic waveguides, where solar cell strips are mounted around the edges of the LSC paintings to convert the glowing light from the paint into electrical power. As shown on the cover, the glow of the luminescent dyes is guided to the concentrator edges by total internal reflection, where different glowing colors from each part of the luminescent painting can be seen around the edges in the four panels when different parts of the painting are illuminated. This demonstration captivates students by showing the creativity and beauty that can be inherent in the development of solar energy materials and devices.
For additional experiments with solar cells in this issue, see:
Visual Observation and Practical Application of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells in High School Energy Education ~ Sen-I Chien, Chaochin Su, Chin-Cheng Chou, and Wen-Ren Li
Using an Open-Source Microcontroller and a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell To Guide Students from Basic Principles to a Practical Application ~ P. Enciso, L. Luzuriaga, and S. Botasini
An Integrated, Multipart Experiment: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of CdS and CdSe Quantum Dots as Sensitizers in Solar Cells ~ Christina A. Bauer, Terianne Y. Hamada, Hyesoo Kim, Mathew R. Johnson, Matthew J. Voegtle, and Matthew S. Emrick
For additional articles on art and chemistry in this issue, see:
Production of Colorful Aluminum Keepsakes and Gas Sensing Smart Materials: Anodizing, Dyeing, and Etching Small Aluminum Parts on a Budget ~ George N. Harakas
Teaching Polymer Chemistry through Cultural Heritage ~ Jocelyn Alcantara-Garcia and Rebecca Ploeger
Differential Scanning Calorimetry for Art Conservation Graduate Students: A Practical Laboratory Exercise Using Polymer Blends ~ Rebecca Ploeger
Editorial: Graduate Education Reform
Michael Ashby and Michelle Maher discuss graduate education reform in a guest editorial this month.
Examining Organic Chemistry Students’ Understandings
“It’s Only the Major Product That We Care About in Organic Chemistry”: An Analysis of Students’ Annotations of Reaction Coordinate Diagrams ~ Maia Popova and Stacey Lowery Bretz (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS Editors’ Choice program)
Organic Chemistry Students’ Understandings of What Makes a Good Leaving Group ~ Maia Popova and Stacey Lowery Bretz
Computer-Based Learning
Implementation and Student Perceptions on Google Docs as an Electronic Laboratory Notebook in Organic Chemistry ~ Deborah Bromfield Lee
Molecule of the Month: Relating Organic Chemistry Principles to Drug Action ~ Paul C. Trippier
Chirality-2: Development of a Multilevel Mobile Gaming App To Support the Teaching of Introductory Undergraduate-Level Organic Chemistry ~ Oliver A. H. Jones, Maria Spichkova, and Michelle J. S. Spencer
Cost-Effective Wireless Microcontroller for Internet Connectivity of Open-Source Chemical Devices ~ Conan Mercer and Dónal Leech
Molecular Symmetry and Visualization
Tap It Fast! Playing a Molecular Symmetry Game for Practice and Formative Assessment of Students’ Understanding of Symmetry Concepts ~ Ricardo Dagnoni Huelsmann, Andrei FelipeVailati, Lucas Ribeiro de Laia, Patrícia Salvador Tessaro, and Fernando Roberto Xavier
A Simple Method for the Visualization of Chair and Twist-Boat Transition States in Torsionally Controlled Addition Reactions ~ Kyle A. Niederer, Matthew D. Fodor, and Arthur J. Catino
Vibrational Spectroscopy of Hexynes: A Combined Experimental and Computational Laboratory Experiment ~ William Adams and Matthew D. Sonntag
Inquiry-Based Learning
The Unknown Exercise: Engaging First-Year University Students in Classroom Discovery and Active Learning on an Iconic Chemistry Question ~ Glen R. Loppnow
Size Exclusion Chromatography: A Teaching Aid for Physical Chemistry ~ Howard G. Barth
Expanding Evaporation Rate Model Determination of Hand-Rub Sanitizers to the General Freshman and Engineering Chemistry Undergraduate Laboratory: Inquiry-Based Formulations, Viscosity Measurements, and Qualitative Biological Evaluations ~ Daniel E. Felton, James G. Moberly, Martina M. Ederer, Patricia L. Hartzell, and Kristopher V. Waynant
Safety Management
Identifying the Scope of Safety Issues and Challenges to Safety Management in Swedish Middle School and High School Chemistry Education ~ Linda Schenk, Ivan A. Taher, and Mattias Öberg
iSchlenk: Portable Equipment for Hands-On Instruction in Air-/Moisture-Sensitive Syringe, Cannula, and Schlenk Techniques ~ Louis Messerle
Biochemistry
Using Molecular Models To Assess Agonists and Antagonists for Cell-Surface Receptors ~ Daniel D. Schwert and Scott M. Gruenbaum
Protein Colorimetry Experiments That Incorporate Intentional Discrepancies and Historical Narratives ~ Nathan S. Astrof and Gail Horowitz
New Procedure To Readily Investigate Lactase Enzymatic Activity Using Fehling’s Reagent ~ Rocco Leonello, Matteo Savio, Paola Baron Toaldo, and Renato Bonomi
Watching the Archive: Chemistry Goes to the Movies
Using popular movies in classroom settings can be useful for putting chemistry content and the discussion of how science is done in the context of engaging stories. In this issue, Sibrina N. Collins and LaVetta Appleby relate Black Panther, Vibranium, and the Periodic Table (see also Sabrina Collins’ post at ChemEdX). Connecting movies and chemistry can also be found in these articles from past issues:
The Elements Go to the Movies ~ Dina Taarea and Nicholas C. Thomas
Teaching Chemistry Using the Movie Apollo 13 ~ James G. Goll and B. J. Woods
Teaching Chemistry Using October Sky ~ James G. Goll, Lindsay J. Wilkinson, and Dolores M. Snell
An Inconvenient Truth—Is It Still Effective at Familiarizing Students with Global Warming? ~ Mark A. Griep and Kaitlin Reimer
Chemistry and Popular Culture: The 007 Bond ~ Arthur M. Last
Put Some Movie Wow! in Your Chemistry Teaching ~ Christopher A. Frey, Marjorie L. Mikasen, and Mark A. Griep
Based on a True Story: Using Movies as Source Material for General Chemistry Reports ~ Mark A. Griep and Marjorie L. Mikasen
"Almost Like Weighing Someone's Soul": Chemistry in Contemporary Film ~ Donald J. Wink
Innovation in the Journal of Chemical Education
With 95 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education, you will always find something innovative, including the articles mentioned above, and many more, in the Journal of Chemical Education. Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable) are also available.
Do you have something to share? Write it up for the Journal! For some advice on becoming an author, it’s always very helpful to read Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary. In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including recently updated: Author Guidelines and Document Templates.