Simulating Electronic Absorption Spectra of Atmospherically Relevant Molecules: A Systematic Assignment for Enhancing Undergraduate STEM Education

Computational and atmospheric chemistry are two important branches of contemporary chemistry. With the present topical nature of climate change and global warming, it is more crucial than ever that students are aware of and exposed to atmospheric chemistry, with an emphasis on how modeling may aid i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Education sciences 2022-04, Vol.12 (4), p.252
Main Authors: Stelz-Sullivan, Eleanor J., Marchetti, Barbara, Karsili, Tolga
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aqueous solutions
Atmosphere
Atmospheric chemistry
Behavioral Objectives
Chemistry
Climate change
computational chemical education
Computational chemistry
COVID-19
Curricula
curriculum development
Distance learning
Educational Research
Experiments
Laboratories
Molecular structure
Organic chemistry
Pedagogy
Photochemistry
Physical chemistry
Pollutants
Radiation
Science education
Spectroscopy
STEM education
undergraduate computational skills
Undergraduate Students
University students
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Summary:Computational and atmospheric chemistry are two important branches of contemporary chemistry. With the present topical nature of climate change and global warming, it is more crucial than ever that students are aware of and exposed to atmospheric chemistry, with an emphasis on how modeling may aid in understanding how atmospherically relevant chemical compounds interact with incoming solar radiation. Nonetheless, computational and atmospheric chemistry are under-represented in most undergraduate chemistry curricula. In this manuscript, we describe a simple and efficient method for simulating the electronic absorption spectral profiles of atmospherically relevant molecules that may be utilized in an undergraduate computer laboratory. The laboratory results give students hands-on experience in computational and atmospheric chemistry, as well as electronic absorption spectroscopy.
ISSN:2227-7102
2227-7102
DOI:10.3390/educsci12040252