Chemistry
Instrumentation
Southwestern College Chemistry Department Instrumentation
The chemistry department at Southwestern is housed in a modern facility with up-to-date equipment that all majors have a chance to work on. Student use is usually part of coursework, but may also take the form of independent research projects.
The major instrumentation includes:
JEOL Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer is a major tool for organic chemists to identify the products of reactions. Southwestern obtained its spectrometer in 2000 with a gift from Dow Chemical.
Perkin-Elmer FT-IR – IR (Infrared) spectroscopy is used by chemists to determine the major functional groups of organic compounds. Southwestern obtained a Perkin-Elmer Spectrum One IR spectrometer in 2000 with a gift from Dow Chemical.
Waters Breeze HPLC System – HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is an important technique in industrial chemistry and biochemistry. The system was purchased and installed in 2001. It is used by students in CHEM324: Analytical Chemistry and for research projects.
Hitachi U-2000 UV-Vis spectrophotometer is a dual wavelength general-purpose spectrophotometer. The department also has access to numerous other visible spectrophotometers for general lab use.
The department also has other standard equipment such as pH meters, a gas chromatograph, electrophoresis equipment, water testing equipment, and access to temperature controlled rooms.
