Feature articles
The editor's choice of articles published in issues of Education in Chemistry from 2002 to the current issue, which you can access for free online.
2013
Spectroscopy in your classroom
Tracy McGhie explains how your students can solve a murder mystery using state-of-the-art equipment
Behind the scenes at a Victorian pharmacy
Jane Essex and a team of students use simple analytical tests to identify the contents of hundreds of bottles in an old chemist's shop
Glass for generations
Josh Howgego finds out how converting radioactive waste into novel glass materials could be a safe, secure way to deal with the legacy of nuclear power stations
There's teaching, and there's teaching.
Starting university marks a new chapter in a student's life, with a brand new set of opportunities and challenges. But the different teaching style in higher education can prove to...
Saving paper
History is written on paper and we face an ever-growing urgency to preserve paper-based artefacts before they are lost forever. Chemistry is at the heart of paper conservation and ...
Beating HIV with a nanosized stick
Nina Notman finds out how scientists at the University of Liverpool use nanomedicine to aid the successful treatment of HIV
It's not all about fuel
Biofineries produce heat, power and a plethora of useful 'platform chemicals'. Are they part of the solution to our renewable energy woes? Josh Howgego finds out
Student-generated assessment
Simon Bates and Ross Galloway tell us how students can use PeerWise to design high quality and effective learning material
2012
Another brick in the whorl
Cross-examining the scientists on the inside of advanced fingerprinting research
The International Chemistry Olympiad
This summer Washington DC eagerly awaited the world's finest sixth form chemists to compete in the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad
Concluding a cosmic chemical census
Scientists are preparing to say goodbye to Herschel, the largest ever space telescope
Dyeing for a place in the sun
Can dye-sensitised solar cells compete with silicon and emerging alternatives? Performance and flexibility allow business to design for light
Jump-starting lectures
There is an emerging trend towards using pre-lecture activities to support tertiary level learning: the options investigated
Rise of the molecular machines
Chemists are putting molecules to work in ways only limited by our imagination
Unlocking video: 24/7 learning for the iPod generation
The capability to produce high quality video is now literally in the palm of your hand. Find out how video can be used to enhance your teaching and support your students' learning....
The chemistry of pottery
Pottery vessels have been made for around 18,000 years. But how does clay extracted from the earth become a colourful pot, and what's the chemistry behind the process?
Chemistry with lasers
The Lasers for Science Facility in Harwell, UK, lets chemists see and manipulate chemical and biological systems. This research has a direct impact on our everyday lives.
Faster than a speeding bullet...
In 2014 a small team from the UK will dispatch a car to Africa with the aim of it speeding across the desert at 1000 mph. We find out how chemistry powers the car to success
What's in your strawberries?
Why are strawberries so irresistible? Do the strawberries you pick in the wild really taste nicer than shop-bought ones?
Thermoelectric materials: efficiencies found in nanocomposites
Thermoelectric materials can be assembled into mechanical structures which can transform heat to electrical energy. They can be used for heat harvesting and refrigeration.
Podcasting: support and enrich chemistry education
Podcasts are an easy and cheap way to provide supporting resources to enhance student learning. Find out why you should join in and prepare your own with this useful 'how to' guide...
Nitrous oxide: are you having a laugh?
Since its discovery, laughing gas has played its part in our dental surgeries, operating theatres and - more controversially - at our parties
Trouble in the periodic table
As chemists we see the periodic table as an icon but its design continues to evolve and is the source of much debate
Protecting chemical innovations
Researchers can protect their chemical inventions from competitors with patents but this is a long and complex process which needs expert guidance
Enhancing teaching using tactile objects
Kinaesthetic learners learn by doing rather than by seeing and hearing. Introducing objects to examine and discuss in class can enhance the learning experience
Ruthenium compounds as anticancer agents
New ruthenium-based compounds with fewer and less severe side effects, could replace longstanding platinum-based anticancer drugs
2011
Research at ISIS
ISIS acts as a super-sensitive microscope. Researchers working at the cutting edge of science use neutrons to find out where atoms are inside materials and what they are doing
Teaching chemistry in 3D using crystal structure data
Fundamental topics such as stereochemistry are taught in 2 or 2.5 D - the Cambridge Structural Database provides an interactive 3D solution
Did molybdenum control evolution on Earth?
Recent discoveries indicate that our atmosphere was not always oxygen rich - molybdenum could have been the limiting factor in the evolution of life on earth
A healthy, wealthy, sustainable world
..won't happen without chemists. We need a new generation of young chemists to avoid becoming an undernourished, impoverished, unsustainable world.
Biomimetics
The next generation of functional materials will need to include aniostropic (directionally dependent) crystals. But how has nature been the source of inspiration for these?
Symmetry of buckminsterfullerene
Both Euler's formula and Descartes' theorem can be used to show how buckyballs are made from closed cages of carbon pentagons and hexagons
Chemical bonding
A masterclass in teaching the topic of bonding, basing chemical explanation on physical forces
Diamond Light Source: illuminating chemistry
Synchrotron light allows chemists to see within structures and individual atoms, without disrupting samples
Four Curie centennial elements
The four Curie elements provide us with an interesting tour of the bottom of the periodic table for the International Year of Chemistry
Giving fossil fuels the chop
Axe Valley Biodiesel - a case study on partnership between school, university and business
Really cheesy chemistry
Stilton, camembert, limburger and cheddar - why, and how, does cheese come in such a variety of smells and tastes?
Entropy - a masterclass
The concept of entropy might seem abstract, but can be illustrated by a statistical interpretation
The evolution of catalytic converters
From early smog problems to modern concerns about air pollution, catalysts pave the way in controlling the emissions from combustion engines
2010
The curious story of toxic ice
In 1944 a fake article was submitted and published as a scientific paper. In the context of How Science Works, can a hoax have educational value?
Two-step bromine attack
An experiment for the classroom to show that bromine adds to an alkene by two-step electrophilic addition
Iron ocean seeding
Carbon sequestration - the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - is an active area of research
Single molecule sequencing
The first draft sequence of the human genome, announced 10 years ago, was time-consuming and expensive
The importance of weak forces
London dispersion forces - instantaneous dipole-induced dipole attractions - are extremely short ranged
Look who discovered caesium
Although Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff are often credited with the discovery of caesium, this honour belongs to Carl Setterberg
Mass spectrometry - the early days
1912, physicist Joseph John (J. J.) Thomson discovers mass spectrometry
A problem shared - the Singapore experience
Problem-based learning (PBL) gives students opportunities for collaborative as well as self-directed learning
Five rings good, four rings bad
Fifty years ago steroid abuse among sportsmen and women was a serious problem. Today, thanks to the skills of analytical chemists, the sporting cheats rarely win
New challenges for photocatalysts
Titania catalysts are being used to keep hospital surfaces clean and to produce hydrogen in solar cells
2009
Chemical tornadoes
An alternative and inspirational way to demonstrate acid-base reactions and fluorescence and chemiluminescence
Sonochemistry - beyond synthesis
Sonochemistry, the use of sound energy to induce physical or chemical changes within a medium, has a growing number of applications in fields such as medicine and nanotechnology
Survival of the fittest
Examples of natural products produced by organisms and plants to overcome competing species and predators provide chemical evidence for Darwin's legacy of natural selection
What is entropy?
What's the best way to introduce to your students this most misunderstood of thermodynamic properties?
Biofuels: the next generation
Chemists look to develop second-generation biofuels made from dead wood, algae and genetically-engineered microorganisms
Crop protection chemicals
By 2030, the world's population is expected to rise to over eight billion - the need for safe and environmentally friendly crop protection chemical has never been greater
Investigations get real
What real chemists do can be the basis of motivating investigations and learning in school chemistry
Jesuits' powder
The powdered bark of the South American cinchona tree is the source of quinine - the mainstay treatment for malaria for centuries
Printing on plastic
The dye diffusion thermal transfer method is used for printing digital photos on plastics, and for direct printing on PVC cards
Microbial iron scavengers
Medicinal and analytical chemists take their cue from micro-organisms' ability to bind to iron in the design of new drugs and sensors
If it smells - it's chemistry
Smell is the most chemical of all the senses - but what's the theory behind the practice?
Ida Noddack and the missing elements
Distinguished women chemist of the early 20th century identifies element 75, one of the gaps in Mendeleev's Table, and is the first to appreciate nuclear fission
Intuitive thinking and learning chemistry
Understanding students' intuitions about the world could provide insight into their misconceptions of chemical concepts
Burning ice in the Arctic
Is methane trapped in ice, deep in the Arctic ocean, a potential clean energy source for the future, or will its release lead to catastrophic climate change?
The public analyst
Analytical chemists ensure everything, from food and drinks, through toys and household chemicals, to air quality and even suspicious powders present no danger to humans
Epilepsy - beyond bromide
An historical journey into the treatment of epilepsy, starting with potassium bromide 150 years ago
Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy
Scientists are using this non-invasive technique to cast light on the workings of living cells to learn more about the molecular mechanisms involved in cancer, allergies and immune...
Catalysts for a green industry
Chemists are working to develop new, longer-lasting catalysts to ensure industrial processes are cleaner, greener and more efficient
Why does cotton feel 'cool'?
An investigation into the structure and properties of cellulose that make cotton clothes feel 'cool' provides a real context for undergraduate spectroscopy lab work
In pursuit of bombykol
In 1959 Aldoph Butenandt identified and synthesised the first pheromone, bombykol. Since then scientists have discovered how male silkworm moths receive this chemical message
Solving an infectious problem
Joseph Lister's use of phenol as an antiseptic revolutionised surgical practice in the 19th century. But was he the first to use this antiseptic technique?
Investigating crystal structures
Sixthformers are introduced to Madelung constants as a way of investigating ionic crystal structures
Ocean acidification
Recent evidence suggests that ocean removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is having serious consequences for marine life
2008
Radioactivity discovered
Centenary celebrations for the founding fathers of radioactivity - Henri Becquerel and Ernest Rutherford.
The power of NMR: in two and three dimensions
Over the past 30 years chemists have developed NMR experiments in two and three dimensions that enable them to solve the structure of complex organic compounds
Multiple-choice tests - are they fit for purpose?
Of what value are multiple-choice tests in the new GCSE Science specifications?
The power of NMR: the beginnings
Originally a curiosity of the quantum world, NMR is now an essential tool for chemists, biochemists and clinicians
From waxes to riches
Supercritical carbon dioxide can be used to remove valuable chemicals, including waxes, from plants, the most widely available and cheap source of biomass in the world
CF3SF5 - a 'super' greenhouse gas
Trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride - a byproduct of the electronics industry - has been named a 'super' greenhouse gas by physical chemists
Biosensors based on DNA
Chemists are developing new medical and environmental sensors based on DNA sequences which have been selected to bind certain targets such as cancer markers in blood
Halogenating enzymes in organic syntheses
The use of haloperoxidases, from seaweed, in organic syntheses is simple and cost-effective and offers more environmentally-friendly routes to a host of compounds
Experimental nanoscience for undergraduates
The recent development of low cost, user-friendly scanning tunnelling microscopes has brought nanoscience experiments into undergraduate laboratories
Good lab practice
Students who want to work as analytical chemists in industry need to be introduced to the basic regulatory requirements of 'good laboratory practice'
Photochromism in view
A context-based chemistry practical highlighting the importance of chemical kinetics and spectroscopy in commercial photochromic dyes
Fighting cancer - the early years
Research and development of nitrogen mustards 60 years ago sets the scene for new era in the treatment of cancer
Nanomedicine arrives
Nanoscale chemical entities target the building blocks of biology with medicinal consequences
Antimony revisited
The intriguing chemistry of antimony, one of the earliest elements to be discovered
E-learning in practice
Making the most of the Internet and ICT to support teaching and learning in science
Librium and Valium - anxious times
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leo Sternbach, discoverer of the anti-anxiety drugs Librium and Valium
Deadly things come in small packages
Painstaking work by chemists to characterise deadly alkaloids exuded in the skin of some brightly coloured poison arrow frogs has offered leads for new and useful pharmaceuticals
Better than antibiotics?
Chemicals that make bacteria lose their hair could be a new weapon in the fight against infections, and at the same time help to overcome the problem of antibiotic resistance
Supercritical processing
Chemists at the University of Nottingham use supercritical fluids to process polymers for drug delivery systems and for tissue engineering.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an invaluable tool in diagnostic medicine.
2007
Fuelling the future: solid phase hydrogen storage
The portable and safe storage of hydrogen will be fundamental to the success of fuel cell-powered cars
Polymers on the move
Fuel prices and the impact transport has on the environment are leading car and aircraft manufacturers to use more lightweight plastics and composites in their products
Harnessing solar energy with Grätzel cells
Chemists from the Universities of Loughborough and Bristol have teamed up to take a research-based project into local schools
Build your own spectrophotometer
By designing and building their own visible-light spectrophotometers, students get to grips with the underlying principles of this widely used analytical tool
Experimenting with biodiesel
The synthesis of biodiesel is exploited to teach general chemistry principles and as a way of fostering a 'green conscience' within undergraduate chemistry students
Understanding our changing atmosphere
Research by chemists into the chemical processes occurring in the troposphere could help to predict the likely impacts of climate change upon atmospheric conditions
Fighting skin cancer with prodrugs
Prodrugs - selective chemical agents - are beginning to show potential as a cure for skin cancer
Which chemistry course?
Selecting the right chemistry course and the right institution are paramount in a prospective chemist's life
US chemical education going green
Kathryn Roberts meets Mary Kirchhoff, the new director of education at the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Washington DC
Flu drugs - pathway to discovery
If bird flu ever starts to transmit from human to human, with no effective vaccine available our only defence will be the antiviral drugs Relenza and Tamiflu
Molecular computers - tomorrow's technology?
As the miniaturisation of silicon chips fast approaches its limit chemists are copying Nature in attempt to build computers atom by atom, molecule by molecule
Phenols in medicine
Phenol encountered in school or college chemistry laboratories demands special respect on account of its toxic and corrosive nature. But phenol and its derivatives do have a few me...
Who really discovered the Haber process?
Although Fritz Haber's name is now attached to the process for the synthesis of ammonia from its constituent elements by using high pressure, who was responsible for this reaction?...
Making triazoles, the green way
Triazole synthesis provides an excellent example of a reaction that has the potential to illustrate principles of green chemistry to undergraduates
Historical highlights in organoarsenic chemistry
Organoarsenic compounds have given insight into important theoretical topics in chemistry and proved to have beneficial pharmacological effects
Investigating commercial sunscreens
Commercial sunscreens provide the basis of an industry-linked investigation suitable for students at various levels
Nanotechnology update
The past 10 years have witnessed myriad R&D programmes in nanotechnology around the world
Cocaine - a short trip in time
In the latter half of the 19th century chemists started to investigate the properties of cocaine. Elucidation of its molecular structure followed some 30 years later
I can see clearly now
Thanks to advances in polymer chemistry contact lenses are now more comfortable and fashionable
2006
Drugs for dementia
About 10 per cent of men and women over 65, and nearly half of those over 80, have Alzheimer's disease
Applied science: on course
Applied science has a key role in the 14-16 curriculum, and its popularity is growing
Glass bones
'Bioactive' ceramic and glass alternatives could improve the quality of life for millions of people suffering from osteoporosis
Making the most of starch
With some clever chemistry starch represents an enormous and sustainable source of renewable carbon for non-food applications.
Artemisinin and a new generation of antimalarial drugs
Every year between one and two million people - mainly children - living in the tropics and subtropics die of malaria.
Research in schools
Science for the 21st Century Initiative (SCI) aims to cultivate an interest in, and knowledge of, the wider aspects of science and technology among A-level students.
Spicing up chemistry
Spices have been used in cooking since Roman times, and were believed to be important as antiparasitic agents and as gastrointestinal protectants in the diet
In the steps of Markovnikov
The addition reactions of HCl and HBr to propene to give either 2-chloropropane or 2-bromopropane are often given as examples of Markovnikov's Rule, but in his original 1870 paper,...
Chemistry, medicine and genetic analysis
In the near future, doctors will be able to carry out a 'while you wait' test, using genetic analysis, for chlamydia, the silent disease that can lead to infertility in women. This...
GM foods - addressing public concerns
Genetically modified (GM) foods continue to generate media attention and concern among the public. How can analytical chemists help consumers make informed choices
Rough science and homemade batteries
Investigations involving simple batteries made from items found in the home or school laboratory can help KS3 pupils understand the origin of current, voltage and power, and the ch...
Percivall Pott, chimney sweeps and cancer
Over 200 years ago, doctor and writer Percivall Pott made the astute connection between soot and scrotal cancer, known then as the chimney sweep's cancer.
Acid mine drainage - a legacy of an industrial past
The environmental damage caused by acid mine drainage (AMD) is a worldwide and growing problem in those countries that once, or are still, extracting coal and/or metals. What is AM...
The carbon dioxide problem
Measuring carbon dioxide from plant debris provides an opportunity for an inquiry-based experiment aimed at 14-15 year olds. Similar experiments are done by soil scientists and eco...
Titan - a museum of the Earth's atmosphere
Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn, has an atmosphere that is predominantly nitrogen with a small amount of carbon present in the form of methane and higher hydrocarbons....
Chlorpromazine - unlocks the asylums
The history of pharmaceuticals is enriched by accounts of drugs developed for one therapeutic purpose that found application in another. This is true for chlorpromazine, a treatmen...
Pioneering women chemists of Bedford College
In the early part of the 20th century, a few institutions seemed to have been havens for women interested in chemistry.
Biting insects - a challenge for chemists
In many parts of the world biting insects are major disease vectors, being the source of malaria and yellow fever for example, though in the UK they are mainly just a nuisance.
Amedeo Avogadro 1776-1856
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of the Italian chemical physicist, Amedeo Avogadro.
A forgotten anniversary?
Has the significance of William Henry Perkin's synthesis of the purple dye mauveine begun to fade?
Dirty air
What constitutes ground-level air pollution and what are the impacts of such pollutants on Man and the environment?
Chapattis and the English disease
In the early 1700s in England 'nothing was so much feared or talk'd of as Rickets among Children'. We now know that this softening of the bones, is caused by a deficiency of vitami...
Ancient coins
Chemistry has played its part in numismatics - in the manufacture, analysis, aesthetics and conservation of coinage
Natural products - back in vogue
Chemists are once again turning to Nature to replenish the medicine chest
2005
The Chemistry Olympiad - miss it, miss out
The international final of the Chemistry Olympiad - a chemistry competition for sixthformers - was held this year in Taiwan. Some 225 students from 59 countries took part in this p...
The chemistry of self-healing polymers
A familiar example of a system with self-healing ability is the human body. But could an analogous strategy be used for the self-repair of polymeric composites?
Pain relief: from coal tar to paracetamol
Analgesics, ie pain-relieving drugs, fall into two categories: those that also reduce body temperature in fevers (antipyretics), and those that act mainly on the brain - typically ...
Investigating the secrets of the Stradivarius
For the past 200 years violin makers around the world have sought to produce violins that would rival those of Stradivari and Guarneri made during 1700-50.
Analytical chemistry makes the news
University departments traditionally divided chemistry into inorganic, organic and physical subsets, with analytical chemistry sitting somewhere in between. But this is changing. T...
The fight against food adulteration
Today's quality control of the food and drinks industry is thanks to pioneering work started by chemist Frederick Accum and medic Arthur Hill Hassall in the 19th century
Salty solvents - ionic really
Ionic compounds are usually high melting point solids. But mix together a powdered organic salt with aluminium chloride and the result is a clear, colourless, 'ionic liquid'.
Skeletal chemistry
What is the minimal core of an education in chemistry? What should someone with a passing need to understand a bit of chemistry - engineers, biologists, physicians, physicists - kn...
2003
Making ice cream - it's physical chemistry
An understanding of the physical chemistry of ice cream is the route to a smooth, soft, creamy dessert
2002
