3D Printers Can Provide an Added Dimension for Teaching Structure–Energy Relationships

Abstract

A 3D printer is used to prepare a variety of models representing potential energy as a function of two geometric coordinates. These models facilitate the teaching of structure–energy relationships in molecular conformations and in chemical reactions.

Visualization without Vision – How Blind and Visually Impaired Students and Researchers Engage with Molecular Structures

“…A. Wood et al, 2017) potential energy surfaces (Blauch & Carroll, 2014;Kaliakin, Zaari, & Varganov, 2015;Teplukhin & Babikov, 2015), orbitals (Lolur and Dawes, 2014;Griffith et al, 2016;Smiar and Mendez, 2016;Carroll and Blauch, 2018;De Cataldo et al, 2018;Robertson and Jorgensen, 2015) , 3D models for teaching symmetry (Casas & Estop, 2015;Scalfani & Vaid, 2014), block copolymer nanostructures (Scalfani et al, 2015) and models for teaching VSEPR theory (Dean et al, 2016). While many structures can be represented using off-the-shelf molecular model kits, these papers highlight structure representations and applications that are enabled by 3D printing.…”

Applications of 3D-Printing for Improving Chemistry Education

“…The authors report that the models, when complemented with textbook drawings and computer generated images, help provide students with an increased comprehension of structure-energy relationships. 27 In a similar application, researchers created 3D-printed models of reaction progress surfaces generated from spectroscopy data (IR, HPLC-UV−vis, and NMR data). 31 The lab activity provides a tactile pedagogical platform for concepts of chemical kinetics that are typically conveyed through twodimensional images.…”

“…Though effective, the fabrication process of the plywood model may be overwhelming for some educators and act as a barrier to implementing this pedagogical tool into their classroom. In 2014, researchers thoroughly described how to create 3D-printed potential energy diagrams for a variety of diatomic systems. − The ability to rapidly manufacture these models enables students to create and compare several models of different diatomic systems. The authors report that the models, when complemented with textbook drawings and computer generated images, help provide students with an increased comprehension of structure-energy relationships .…”

“…In 2014, researchers thoroughly described how to create 3D-printed potential energy diagrams for a variety of diatomic systems. − The ability to rapidly manufacture these models enables students to create and compare several models of different diatomic systems. The authors report that the models, when complemented with textbook drawings and computer generated images, help provide students with an increased comprehension of structure-energy relationships . In a similar application, researchers created 3D-printed models of reaction progress surfaces generated from spectroscopy data (IR, HPLC-UV–vis, and NMR data) .…”

How Should Chemistry Educators Respond to the Next Generation of Technology Change?

“…Even though this was the first time many of these students worked with 3D printing, the overall results were encouraging. Grumman and Carroll had their students use 3D printing to create space-filling models of electron-density iso-surface models and high-resolution molecular models [22] and Blauch and Carroll have used 3D printing to create potential energy surfaces for the teaching of structure-energy relationships [23]. Three-dimensional printing can help people who are blind or partially sighted to visualize three-dimensional objects, like complex molecules, by handling the models.…”