Teaching Chemistry with Household Items

Laboratory instruction and experimentation is a vital component of chemistry education. Such procedures are designed to generate interest in the subject matter and compliment textbook and lecture materials. As opposed to lecture alone, supplementing the course with laboratory experiences aims to increase student retention and comprehension. However, for new laboratory students, quantitative assignments using obscure chemicals can be tedious and imposing which can create a barrier to learning. This manual compiles and expands upon existing qualitative literature demonstrations providing educators with five experiments featuring a household product to introduce a general chemistry concept. The household items highlighted in these experiments are: aluminum foil, milk, vinegar, rubbing alcohol, orange juice, soda-pop, and glow sticks. These ordinary household substances were selected to showcase unfamiliar properties of everyday items. The general chemistry concepts introduced in this manual include recognizing the difference between reactants and catalysts, comparisons of pH and relative acidity, redox reactions, and reaction kinetics. Each experiment contains an introduction, list of materials, an experimental procedure complete with illustrations, and conclusion. This manual is designed to be an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide for educators teaching introductory chemistry classes in order to engage students in a fun and relatable manner.

HNO (nitroxyl) is a biologically relevant unstable small molecule which rapidly dimerizes in aqueous solution. Thus, there is a need for HNO donors that can quickly release HNO “on demand”. Our group has developed a first generation family of HNO donors which generate HNO rapidly through photolysis. However, some competition from a photoredox side reaction reduces the utility of these molecules. The goal of this project was to explore the impact of incorporating a methyl substituent on the rate and selectivity of HNO generation. The poster will describe the studies completed to date on the synthesis and photochemistry of HNO donor.

Stimuli-Responsive Liquid Crystal Polymer Particles: Fabrication

through Microphotopolymerization

Author: Ryan Williams-Physics Undergraduate Student

Advisors: Jakub Kolacz and Dr. Qi-Huo Wei

Liquid Crystal Institute

Kent State University

Stimuli-responsive particles can be used as building blocks for reconfigurable mechanical or electromagnetic metamaterials and as carriers for drug delivery. In this work, we develop processes to fabricate micro-sized liquid crystal polymeric particles. These particles have well controlled molecular orientational ordering, and may be actuated by light or temperature variation. We will present our progress in the fabrication and characterization of boomerang shaped liquid crystal polymer particles.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for monitoring the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals, food supply, cosmetics, as well as other biological products. While the production of manmade drugs is strictly governed by FDA regulations, dietary supplements, including homeopathic remedies, are not subject to the same rigorous rules and guidelines because they are classified as foods, not drugs. As a result, supplement companies are tasked with developing tools and methods for evaluating the identity and safety of their products, with little guidance from the US FDA or US Pharmacopeia for how to screen materials.

In the present study, we demonstrate the use of direct, high-resolution mass spectrometry approaches to screen raw materials to be used in natural, dietary supplements. Specifically, the Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) ionization source is used to directly desorb and ionize molecules from raw materials. A high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometer is used to separate and detect ions based on the mass-to-charge ratios. Key chemical components in these raw materials were identified with this approach and used to classify/grade these bulk natural products. Many compounds have been detected in these materials including curcumin and tumerone in Turmeric. Finally, the applicability of this approach to detect and identify adulterants in the materials, including pesticides and herbicides, will also be presented.

In my course of education the fields of Music and Math have fascinated me by their separation in description, math being considered a science and music a subject of art. However I now see them both as an art and a science. I am a cellist, pianist, and trumpeter and in my pursuit to master these instruments I began to blur the lines between math and music seeing music in a more mathematical light, recognizing the distances between notes on a cello’s finger board and opening the piano to see the harp and the length and thickness of stings; I started to think that math was in essence the basis of all music. For my mathematical investigation I wanted to see how exactly mathematical concepts existed in music and then to see if I could derive these concepts from my playing of cello.

Mathematics is the fundamental building block of sound and in its musical form an even larger array of number phenomena exist. Although the mathematical properties of sound had been studied by the ancient Chinese, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian societies, the scholars of the Pythagorean School is ancient Greece were the first to investigate and formulate musical scales and tuning systems in terms of numerical ratios and functions. They had believed that all nature consists of harmony arising out of the small integers of 1, 2, 3, and 4; regarding them as the source of all perfection as did Confucius from China and Indian theorists. These numbers are crucial in the equations of musical scales and tuning systems.

Diacyglycerol pyrophosphate (DGPP) an uncommon membrane lipid found in plants, and yeast, but never in mammals is formed from phosphatidic acid. The function of DGPP during stress signaling is unclear. Therefore, the physiochemical properties, specifically the ionization of the head group, were analyzed to elucidate the function of DGPP. The presence of the trans-membrane peptide KALP23, to mimic the interaction with DGPP binding proteins, caused an increase in the ionization of DGPP. This increase in negative charge might be due to the decrease in interfacial pH by the cationic lysine residues of KALP23, or might be due to direct hydrogen bond interaction between KALP23 and DGPP. We investigated the effect of positive charge on the negative charge of DGPP to delineate these separate effects. Next, we investigated the interaction of PA with DGPP and the resultant effect on the charge of both of these signaling lipids. The results are discussed in terms of the electrostatic-hydrogen bond switch model previously described for the ionization and protein interaction of PA.

Keywords: Corticotrophin Releasing Factor, Fear, Stress, GABA, Anxiety, Sex Differences, HPA Axis

Corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF), a peptide secreted by the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, modulates the endocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stress. The CRF receptor is expressed in a heterogeneous array of cell types, impeding advancement towards determining the mechanisms of fear and anxiety. As a way to explore the different components of the CRF system, we utilized a floxed GABA_b transgenic mouse crossed with a CRF-Cre driven mouse. This crossing allowed us to knockout GABA_B receptors in CRF-expressing neurons. CRF GABA_b Knockout mice were trained in context fear conditioning, cued fear conditioning, and assessed in anxiety measures including the open field and elevated plus maze. We expected the lack of GABA_B receptors would result in increased fear and anxiety as GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. CRF GABA_b Knockout males, but not females, display less context and cued fear as measured by freezing levels than wildtype littermates. Additionally, female knockout mice, but not males, displayed significantly less anxiety in the elevated plus maze. These data indicate that lacking CRF-containing GABA_b neurons disrupts anxiety-induced and fear behavior in the opposite direction of our prediction. Further research into the acquisition, consolidation, and extinction of condition fear can help to explain the mechanisms for pathological conditions and further treatment methodology.

This document gives a brief overview of the design and operation of a methanol reformer, its intended use, and why it is being built as a research project. The methanol reformer ties into other projects that are being designed and built at the Tuscarawas campus and has provided means for an excellent learning experience. Design of the reformer encompasses the need to understand various sciences including chemistry and various engineering technologies.

In a world with growing energy needs and dwindling resources, reliable and renewable energy and power systems are key components in an effort to advance beyond conventional methods. Among the most promising of these technologies are fuel cells: electrochemical conversion devices that transform the energy in a fuel directly into electricity. The major benefits of fuel cells include: low-to-zero emissions, high efficiency, reliability and fuel flexibility, energy security, ruggedness and durability, scalability, quiet operation, technology compatibility, and that they are lightweight and long-lasting. A fuel cell consists of an anode, cathode, and electrolyte. Among the five major types of fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are an excellent solution to energy and power needs due to their fuel flexibility, high energy density and portability. Recent freeze casting fabrication techniques provide an exciting path for improvement of SOFC performance. Experimental procedures in freeze casting of tubular SOFCs consisted of: ceramic slurry preparation, rheological analysis, casting, coating, sintering, microstructure evaluation, and performance testing. The new process generated the desired microstructure for enhanced functionality of the fuel cells. Applications of the SOFC power systems are vast, including NASA’s space-based systems, auxiliary power, electric utility, distributed generation, and many portable power applications. This research will also give way to ancillary projects including carbon dioxide conversion, as well as hydrogen, fuel, and oxygen production. This paper will discuss freeze casting procedures, the resultant microstructures of SOFCs and performance evaluation, as well as provide a base for analysis in future research.

Biphenyl-(1,2,4)-oxadiazole Liquid Crystals

Sonia Britton, Todd Ness, Christopher E. Ruth, Robert Twieg, and Farid Fouad

The incorporation of the 1,2,4-oxadiazole entity in the core of a calamitic heterocyclic liquid crystal results in the formation of a bent geometry, known as the “banana structure”. This 135^o bend angle is what many believe to be the reason for the distinct characteristics absolved from incorporation of oxadiazoles in liquid crystals. Researchers found it intriguing to incorporate oxadiazoles into liquid crystals for organic electrodes because of their charge carrier mobility, exceptional chemical and thermal stability, and high fluorescence quantum yields. Thus far, 1,2,4-oxadiazole mesogenic properties have not been extensively studied, which lead to our research group’s fascination in synthesizing a family of unique liquid crystals with potential use in optics technology.

We present the synthesis and mesogenic studies of two novel isomeric libraries of 3- and 5- biphenyl-(1,2,4-Oxadiazole) bent liquid crystals. Variation in the lengths of the two tails results in different mesogenic properties; the short-tailed compounds are non-mesogenic while the medium-tailed members produce nematic phases, and even some medium-tailed compounds show both nematic and smectic A phases. The long-tailed structures produce only smectic phases.A few members have a wide range nematic phase (50 ^○C). To reduce transition temperatures, we decided to introduce fluorine atoms at the biphenyl rings. The known high electron transport property of oxadiazoles give these compounds a potential for possible applications in the fields of optoelectronics and displays.