Quantitative Analysis of Nail Polish Remover Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Revisited

Abstract

Substantial modifications are presented for a previously described experiment using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to quantitatively determine analytes in commercial nail polish remover. The revised experiment is intended for a second- or third-year laboratory course in analytical chemistry and can be conducted for larger laboratory section enrollments. The experiment employs the standard addition method, places a strong emphasis on careful treatment of NMR data, and introduces elements of group learning where students critically interpret a relatively large set of data. NMR spectra are obtained from aqueous solution samples without any deuterium present for a lock signal, a technical feature of the experiment that might be of general interest to the undergraduate chemistry teaching community.