The Use of a Small Chalcone Spectroscopy Database for the Introduction of Advanced Spectroscopy Techniques at the Undergraduate Levels

Teaching organic spectroscopy and structure elucidation at the undergraduate level (IR, UV, NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry) often requires the use of ideal targets and flawless spectra, which can mislead students about the use of spectroscopy to solve every given structure. It is common for undergraduate students to use NMR spectroscopy to solve their unknown structures while discarding simpler analytical tools or methods. Substituted chalcones proved to be the perfect targets to teach students that NMR spectroscopy may not always be the definitive tool to analyze and identify a structure and that the knowledge of the uses and limitations of other spectroscopic methods is critical when trying to solve a problem. In this article, we have synthesized a series of mono- and disubstituted chalcones to be used as teaching examples for undergraduate students. This article teaches unequivocal structure identification and spectra assignment using IR, UV, NMR “full packages” and mass spectrometry, while supplying students with a large database of practice questions.