The acquisition of the FT-IR spectrophotometer allowed the introduction and development of microscale laboratory experiments at all levels of the chemistry curriculum. Continued conversion to and an increase in the variability of microscale experiments occurred in the organic laboratory sequence. The instrumentation strengthened the development of the organic laboratory projects which have greatly stimulated the students' interests in chemical and biological research. New experiments were introduced and modified for the physical and integrated laboratories. The interest in polymers and surface analysis was further stimulated by observing spectral properties of materials using the FT-IR reflectance accessory. Greater student-faculty interaction in the area of research (polymer films, molybdenum complexes, products resulting from mechanistic studies) were fostered by the acquisition of the FT-IR spectrophotometer. Construction and use of the spectral libraries gave the students opportunities to gain skills in chemical analysis used in the environmental analysis sector. The institution contributed to this project in an amount equal to the NSF funds.
