Free to access articles
The editor's choice of articles published in issues of Education in Chemistry from July 2003 to the current issue, which you can access for free online.
Features
New challenges for photocatalysts
Titania catalysts are being used to keep hospital surfaces clean and to produce hydrogen in solar cells
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
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
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
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
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
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 Charles 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
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, including proteins ...
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
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
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.
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...
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...
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. When a wound occurs, fluids flow to the point of damage. Once there, the fluids undergo an extensive set...
