Chemistry & Materials Science

Chemical Lab Safety and Risk Assessment

Required. Write a COSHH/MSDS-based risk assessment for a real specific named chemical procedure (e.g. 'acid-base titration of sodium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid'). A generic 'working in a chemistry lab' assessment is not accepted — the procedure must be specific and named, identifying the actual chemical hazards of the specific reagents, required PPE with justification, and disposal protocols for the specific waste streams. A qualified chemist reviews and confirms it correctly identifies the real chemical risks. Accessible to students without lab access — the risk assessment is a planning document based on published MSDS data.

Quantitative Chemical Analysis

Elective. Quantitative analysis using titration (acid-base, redox, complexometric, or precipitation), gravimetric analysis, or spectrophotometric quantification. Proof: all raw trial results (not just concordant ones), calculations with error propagation, percentage error vs. reference value, and discussion of systematic and random error sources. Accessible alternative: rigorous error propagation analysis on NIST Standard Reference Data — the mathematical analysis of precision and accuracy demonstrates the same analytical reasoning as lab work.

Chemical Synthesis and Characterisation

Elective. Plan and execute (or rigorously analyse) a chemical synthesis: procedure documentation, isolation methodology, percentage yield calculation, and full characterisation data (mp/bp + at least one of NMR, IR, or MS). Accessible alternative: rigorous comparative analysis of characterisation data from ChemSpider, CCDC (free for academic use), or SDBS for a named literature compound — documenting each value, comparison to reference, and what discrepancies indicate about purity or identity.

Spectroscopic Data Interpretation

Elective. Interpret real spectroscopic data — NMR (¹H, ¹³C, or DEPT), IR, or MS — for a specific named compound. Document reasoning for every peak assignment. Accessible alternative: authenticated spectra from SDBS (free) or NIST Chemistry WebBook (free) — methodology and documentation requirements are identical. Reviewer provides an unseen spectrum during the review session for live assignment — confirms methodological understanding, not just familiarity with reference data.

Chemistry Primary Literature Problem Solving

Elective. Work through a key calculation or derivation from a named primary chemistry paper step by step — not a textbook. Document every step, identify approximations, and assess the methodology's limitations. Accessible via RSC open access, ACS Publications, PubMed, and arXiv chemistry preprints. Reviewer presents a second related paper during the review session and asks you to identify the key calculation step — confirming methodological understanding.

Free authenticated database of NMR, IR, MS, and Raman spectra for thousands of organic compounds, maintained by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan). Use for the spectroscopic interpretation step when you do not have access to a spectrometer — the spectra are authenticated and citable, and the methodology for documenting peak assignments is identical to lab-acquired data.

Free US government database of thermochemical, spectroscopic, and reaction data for thousands of chemical species. Use for quantitative analysis reference values (comparing your analytical result to a certified reference) and for IR spectral reference data. All data is citable and peer-reviewed by NIST chemists.

Many RSC journals (Chemical Science, RSC Advances) are fully open access. Use for finding a named primary chemistry paper for the primary literature problem-solving step. ChemSpider (rsc.org/periodic-table) is also free and provides characterisation reference data for thousands of compounds — useful for the synthesis and characterisation step.