The “new requirements” of the “Four New Construction” initiative for talent development necessitate reforms of the organic chemistry course to meet these updated goals. During the course reforming, new course learning objectives were re-established, and the “students-centered” teaching approach across the entire teaching process was designed. The course contents and the teaching mode were re-constructed. Moreover, diversified course assessment methods were performed to evaluate the learning effect of students. As a result, an organic chemistry curriculum system with unique characteristics was established that is tailored to our university.

Carbonyl oxonium intermediates are highly reactive and prone to a variety of reactions. This paper outlines five key types of reactions involving carbonyl oxonium intermediates in university-level organic chemistry education: addition, substitution, decomposition, isomerization, and pericyclic reactions. The role of carbonyl oxonium as a crucial intermediate in the mechanisms of complex organic reactions is discussed. It is important to note that the reactivity of carbonyl oxonium is multifaceted and subject to competition and coexistence among these different reaction types. A thorough understanding of these five reactions enhances scientific reasoning and literacy in organic chemistry, aligning with the educational philosophy that “organic chemistry is both a science and an art”.

Transition-metal-catalyzed coupling reactions are among the most important methodologies in modern organic synthesis. However, due to the cost of catalysts and specific reaction conditions, these reactions have not been widely adopted in undergraduate laboratory courses. To allow students to experience the development of modern organic chemistry and the principles of green chemistry firsthand, we designed a copper-catalyzed oxidative coupling reaction between aryl boronic acids and alkyl sulfinates to synthesize aryl sulfones. The reaction uses copper acetate (Cu(OAc)₂) and N-methylimidazole as catalysts, with air as the oxidant. The coupling of 4-acetylphenylboronic acid with sodium methylsulfonate results in the formation of 4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl ethanone in moderate yield. This experiment involves anhydrous techniques, microscale reagent handling, thin-layer chromatography, rotary evaporation, and melting point determination. Additionally, the experiment can be extended into an exploratory exercise, enabling students to investigate the key factors influencing transition metal-catalyzed organic reactions. It fosters the development of scientific research skills and enhances students' overall experimental competence. The experiment has been successfully implemented in undergraduate laboratory courses.

Reductive amination is a practical method for converting carbonyl compounds to amines. Using this reaction as an example, we introduce a comprehensive organic chemistry experiment designed for senior undergraduates: the reductive amination of isophthalaldehyde with silane to synthesize m-xylylenediamine. In this reaction, tert-butyl carbamate (BocNH₂) serves as the nitrogen source, and triethylsilane (Et₃SiH) acts as the reducing agent, with trifluoroacetic acid as the catalyst. Isophthalaldehyde undergoes reductive amination to produce Boc-protected m-xylylenediamine, which is subsequently deprotected to yield m-xylylenediamine hydrochloride. The final product, m-xylylenediamine, is obtained by treating the hydrochloride salt with sodium hydroxide. The experimental procedure includes techniques such as extraction, vacuum distillation, drying, recrystallization, and melting point determination, along with analytical methods like thin-layer chromatography (TLC), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This synthetic route is well-suited for laboratory synthesis, providing high yields and easy purification of the product. The experiment enhances students’ skills in organic synthesis and deepens their understanding and application of spectroscopic techniques.

This paper presents the pedagogical design and implementation process of an organic chemistry experiment focused on the extraction of caffeine from tea leaves. The study illustrates how this experiment can enhance students’ knowledge, foster innovation skills, and incorporate elements of ideological and political education.

Tartaric acid and its derivatives are commonly adopted as chiral resolving agents for the separation of racemic compounds. However, existing separation experiments tend to be complex with the not easily observed phenomena. This study presents an improved experiment in which aniline is reacted with racemic tartaric acid to form ammonium salts. By optimizing reaction conditions, including separation reagents, crystallization solvents, and temperature, visible L-type and D-type tartaric acid aniline ammonium salt crystals are obtained. These crystals are then subjected to alkaline hydrolysis and the following acidification to yield D-(−)-tartaric acid and L-(+)-tartaric acid. The separated crystals are further characterized and confirmed via various techniques, such as circular dichroism (CD), polarimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This improved experiment emphasizes the macroscopic manifestation of the microscopic chiral nature, making it easier for students to understand and grasp the concept of chirality (molecular structure).

This paper examines the application of various information technologies in organic chemistry laboratory education and investigates how these technologies can enhance teaching effectiveness, stimulate students’ interest and enthusiasm for learning, and improve their experimental skills and innovative capabilities. By analyzing the current state of organic chemistry laboratory education, this study proposes a series of innovative pedagogical reform methods that integrate information technology and explores the potential of these technologies within these methods. Additionally, the paper discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by modern information technology in higher education

Ethane, hydrazine, and hydrogen peroxide are three structurally similar substances composed of the elements from the same period with hydrogen, respectively. However, their stability significantly decreases in a sequential manner, and their stable conformations are also dissimilar. These differences have not been explained adequately in the current textbooks. This article provides a possible explanation for the variation in stability among these substances by analyzing their n-σ^* hyperconjugation. Additionally, it elucidates the absence of anti-conformation in hydrazine and hydrogen peroxide. The hyperconjugation theory is extended to illustrate and to discuss stability and stable conformation of inorganic compounds.

Organic Chemistry is a compulsory basic course offered for undergraduate majors such as chemistry, biology, materials, and environment. The course of Organic Chemistry in South China Normal University adheres to the teaching philosophy of “reviewing the old to learn the new and applying what is learned”, adheres to the guidance of “cultivating virtue and educating student” and “teaching people to fish”, attaches importance to the personalized growth of students, fully utilizes information technology and new form textbooks and other teaching platforms, makes the combination and interaction of “offline” and “online” teaching, creates a learning community that promotes “learning-research-teaching”, and implements diverse and flexible course grade evaluation methods. By benchmarking the cultivation of outstanding talents, especially particularly versatile, practical, innovative, and individualized teacher trainees, we have reorganized an organic chemistry teaching pattern that integrates, permeates the history of chemistry, and green chemistry knowledge, and constructed a curriculum teaching model with innovative characteristics of the “old and new” sixtet. Through years of teaching innovation and practice, our curriculum has achieved significant results in educating students. In 2020, it was recognized as one of the first batch of “national first-class undergraduate courses” and “provincial first-class undergraduate courses”.

To enhance the development of organic chemistry courses in higher education institutions and continually improve the quality of instruction, the National Instructional Committee of Chemistry for Higher Education commissioned a comprehensive survey focusing on the class hours and teaching content of organic chemistry courses within chemistry programs. This paper analyzes, compares, and summarizes the survey results, identifies several challenges in the current teaching practices of organic chemistry, and offers recommendations for optimizing the course content.

This study addresses several challenges in organic chemistry experiment courses, including complex theoretical concepts, monotonous practical activities, limited curriculum engagement, and insufficient ideological content. By connecting the historical development of organic chemistry with real-life narratives, we infuse the experimental course with a sense of mysterious “magic”, thereby stimulating students’ interest in learning and exploration. We propose a teaching model that integrates “industry-university-research” through three dimensions: theory, practice, and application. Additionally, we intertwine the “magic” narratives with ideological components aimed at moral education, subtly instilling correct scientific concepts in students’ minds.

In the context of emerging engineering education, chemistry courses emphasize not only the development of students’ solid foundational skills in chemistry but also the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge to foster an innovative scientific spirit. “The Preparation of Benzocaine” is a classic undergraduate experiment in comprehensive organic chemistry. However, the original reaction procedure involves the generation of substantial waste acid during esterification, a cumbersome and time-consuming reduction step, and lacks engagement. To enhance efficiency, environmental friendliness, expansiveness and exploratory nature of the experiment, cutting-edge scientific advancements have been integrated into the preparation reaction. In the improved experiment, a deep eutectic solvent is utilized as a catalyst in the esterification reaction, which is recyclable and environmentally friendly. For the reduction step, tetrahydroxydiboron serves as the reducing agent and 4,4’-bipyridine as the catalyst, enabling the reaction to take place at room temperature with a noticeable color change, thereby making it engaging. This improved experiment not only stimulates students’ interest in learning, but also improves students’ scientific research literacy, and cultivates students’ green chemistry concept, independent thinking, and problem-solving skills.

This study focuses on the design of a teaching experiment of synthesizing safinamide methanesulfonate, a drug for treating Alzheimer’s disease. Starting from 4-(3-fluorobenzyloxy)benzaldehyde, the microwave synthesis technique was employed in a reductive amination strategy to rapidly and efficiently obtain the target product through three consecutive reactions. The product’s structure and purity were confirmed through NMR, melting point, and specific rotation analysis. This experiment not only enhances students’ organic synthesis skills but also emphasizes the integration of knowledge across disciplines.

Thioether compounds are significant sulfur-containing compounds with widespread applications in natural products, pharmaceuticals, functional materials. Due to the limitation of class length, thioether compounds has relatively little space in classroom instruction. Therefore, this paper focuses on diphenyl thioether compounds as one type of thioether compound. It introduces synthetic routes and applications of several diphenyl thioether compounds to supplement classroom teaching, broaden students’ knowledge, and enhance their interest in learning.