The integration of NMR processing freeware into a synthetic organic course of 25–45 undergraduates is presented. SpinWorks software is readily available for internet download and provides students with a mechanism to analyze the free induction decay signal obtained from a research NMR spectrometer. An experiment is described where students use SpinWorks to identify and quantify the major components within a reaction mixture, as part of a multi-step synthesis. Their product purity calculations are critical as a feature of the preparation of a sunscreen analog.
Goodreid et al. (Wed,) studied this question.