Introducing undergraduates to green chemistry: an interactive teaching exercise

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 catalysts result in substantial improvements in the operational efficiency of well established industrial- scale processes. The ITU format additionally provides participating students with the opportunity to give short oral presentations in a small group environment. Student coursework and the outcome of student evaluation exercises are also described.