An experiment for the general chemistry laboratory is described wherein gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) are used to characterize the products of a series of microscale reactions on vanillin. A single sophisticated instrument can be incorporated into the laboratory given sufficient attention to the use of sampling accessories and software macros. Synthetic experiments coupled with modern instrumental techniques can be used in the general chemistry laboratory to illustrate the concepts of synthesis, structure, bonding, and spectroscopy.
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