An Effective Pedagogical Approach To Understanding Qualitative and Quantitative Organic Chemistry by Using a Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer

One main objective of organic chemistry courses is to show students how much of a desired organic product is synthesized in the reaction mixture. Here, we report how a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument can be applied to a set of common organic chemistry experiments for identifying the main product, any minor product(s) and quantifying the product yield. GC-MS is a powerful analytical instrumentation tool capable of detecting, identifying and quantifying many volatile organic compounds. The GC-MS technique is routinely used in chemistry research and manufacturing laboratories. Despite its wide application in organic chemistry and ease of use, many colleges and universities have not incorporated this technique into their organic chemistry courses