ERIC Number: EJ943650
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Sep
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Have Biofuel, Will Travel: A Colorful Experiment and a Different Approach to Teach the Undergraduate Laboratory
El Seoud, Omar A.; Loffredo, Carina; Galgano, Paula D.; Sato, Bruno M.; Reichardt, Christian
Journal of Chemical Education, v88 n9 p1293-1297 Sep 2011
The substitution of petroleum-based fuels with those from renewable sources has gained momentum worldwide. A UV-vis experiment for the quantitative analysis of biofuels (bioethanol or biodiesel) in (petroleum-based) diesel oil has been developed. Before the experiment, students were given a quiz on biofuels, and then they were asked to suggest a suitable UV-vis experiment for the quantification of biofuels in diesel oil. After discussing the results of the quiz, the experiment was conducted. This included the determination of [lambda][subscript max] of the medium-dependent, that is, solvatochromic, visible absorption band of the probe 2,6-bis[4-("tert"-butyl)phenyl]-4-{2,4,6-tris[4-("tert"-butyl)phenyl]pyridinium-1-yl}phenolate as a function of fuel composition. The students appreciated that the subject was linked to a daily situation and that they were asked to suggest the experiment. This experiment served to introduce the phenomena of solvation and solvatochromism. (Contains 6 figures.)
Descriptors: Fuels, Science Instruction, Science Experiments, Laboratory Experiments, College Science, Undergraduate Study, Scientific Concepts, Chemistry, Conservation (Environment), Foreign Countries, Spectroscopy, Organic Chemistry
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Brazil
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A