Students in organic chemistry and in special problems courses in scientific research are doing experiments in the ultraviolet and visible region of the spectrum. Students are gaining experience with their own spectra of organic compounds for spectra structure correlations and learning to operate a modern, programmable, computer- directed spectrophotometer equivalent to those used in industry and national laboratories. The students are doing experiments such as the measurement of the spectra of aniline, the anilinium cation, and nitrobenzene. They are then considering the displacement and enhancement of absorption bands in the spectrum due to the structural substitution of the amino group on the aromatic ring, the disappearance of the shift and enhancement when the amino group is converted to the anilinium cation, and the appearance of additional bands when the structural change involves substitution of a nitro group on the benzene ring. The grantee is matching the award from non-Federal sources.
