Using 3D Printing to Visualize 2D Chromatograms and NMR Spectra for the Classroom

The use of three-dimensional printing in chemistry education has expanded greatly in the past 10 years. The technique has been used to demonstrate a range of concepts including molecular structure, orbitals, and point groups; to produce chemical equipment such as cuvettes and columns; and even to print out mathematical shapes and functions. Here, 3D printing is used to create physical models of two-dimensional NMR spectra and HPLC chromatograms to facilitate student understanding of these challenging concepts. The target audience are undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as university teachers and researchers. Methods to create and print tangible models of the data are presented using the Mathematica and MATLAB programming environments. The models can then be used as useful teaching tools to assist with developing representational competence. The underlying data for the models may be created in-house or obtained from online databases. Instructions to convert the raw data to 3D printable files are provided, and the options for optimizing the resulting files are discussed. These innovative physical models allow students, particularly those who are visual and/or tactile learners, to better understand the complex information presented in multidimensional spectra and chromatograms and enhance student understanding of these forms of data.