Introducing undergraduates to green chemistry: an interactive teaching exercise
Abstract
An interactive teaching unit (ITU) is described that aims to introduce undergraduate students to some of the concepts and themes of the Green Chemistry movement. It assumes no prior awareness of green chemistry and uses the concept of the atom economy to evaluate the overall efficiencies of a variety of chemical processes. Although the examples presented have all been described elsewhere, the selected reactions and the format of the ITU package represent a stimulating means of getting chemistry students to think about sustainable resources and efficient processes. Catalysis is identified as an enabling technology and examples are presented where the application of