Discipline: Chemistry & Chemical Sciences
Subcategory: STEM Research
- Tuskegee University
Co-Author(s): Mohamed A. Abdalla, Willard Collier, Melissa S. Reeves, Albert E. Russell and Marilyn Tourne, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL
The overall goal of the TIP at Tuskegee University is to improve the Department of Chemistry laboratory curriculum and the environment through three initiatives: a) professional development activities for teaching with a guided inquiry-based model, b) inclusion of green chemistry throughout the chemistry laboratory curriculum and c) increase of student hands-on access to instrumentation. This will be accomplished through developing guided inquiry experiments that produce silver metal, silver ions, and silver nanoparticles from the General Chemistry laboratory waste stream and apply the ions and nanoparticles as catalysts and antimicrobials. Two significant accomplishments for the department will be the diversification of our experiment portfolio and the reduction of our laboratory waste. In the first phase of the project, silver waste is to be collected and purified to be used for silver nanoparticle synthesis. The purification of silver using a “green” method has since only been accomplished utilizing an AgCl standard. The purified silver salts will be reused as catalysts for Mannich reactions in organic chemistry labs. The recycled silver is also being used to synthesize silver nanoparticles and investigate their biological activities. Thus, this project will be a closed-loop process which involves various levels of our Chemistry laboratories. The broader impacts of this project include linking chemistry concepts and green chemical methods to hands-on research experiences which will stimulate the students’ awareness and the pursuit of scientific careers. The TIP will strengthen research, research training, and allow new active-learning methodologies to be implemented throughout the chemistry curriculum at Tuskegee University. Undergraduate and graduate students will be exposed to the overarching theme of green chemistry, recycling, sustainability, and its impact on our world. Students involved in this work will be part of a multi-step closed-loop process in which they can ultimately follow semester by semester ending in a newly found appreciation for sustainable practices. Current progress on this project will be presented in three areas: a) faculty development b) research assistant experiment outcomes, and c) evaluation and implementation of the newly developed experiment.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF-HRD - HIST BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIV
Faculty Advisor: None Listed,