A versatile experiment is described for the high school and college laboratory setting based on the synthesis of biobased polymers prepared from inexpensive, renewable, and nonhazardous chemicals. Combinations of readily available citric acid, glycerol, and tapioca root starch are used to prepare three polymeric materials with different observable physical properties. Simple qualitative comparisons of aqueous degradation rates can be made or a dye can be added for quantitative assessment. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Yellow Dye No. 5 is selected as a dye stable to basic conditions and is added to each sample in the form of commercial food coloring. The dyed polymer samples are observed to degrade in an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, releasing the dye. Both ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and smartphone colorimetry are used to follow the increasing dye concentration, which is inversely correlated to polymer degradation. The collected data is suitable for analysis and graphing by students. Potential learning outcomes of the experiment include Le Chatelier’s principle, types of intermolecular forces, hydrolysis, absorption spectroscopy, Beer’s Law, rate determinations, and graphing. The experiment models green chemistry principles of design for safer chemicals, degradation, and use of renewable feedstocks. Paramount to the educational objectives of the curriculum are the societal connections to plastics that are accumulating in the environment and causing harm, as well as examples of successful advances in commercial bioplastics such as poly­(lactide) (PLA).

As the role of polymers in undergraduate chemistry curricula continues to expand, opportunities will emerge for adopting experiments involving smart materials (i.e., materials that change properties in response to external stimuli). Slime demonstrations are routinely carried out with poly­(vinyl alcohol) (i.e., PVA) hydrogels because the polymer is inexpensive and nontoxic, and the resulting material has interesting physical properties. This report describes an activity where PVA is processed into an autonomous self-healing smart material. Specifically, students prepare rigid PVA hydrogels using a simple freeze/thaw protocol. The resulting material is cut, and the severed edges are pressed together to initiate autonomous self-healing. Healing is observed by measuring sufficiently high (i.e., >40 kPa) uniaxial tensile strengths at the repaired surface. Preparing the hydrogel does not require chemical additives beyond commercially available PVA (i.e., M w ∼ 145,000 g mol–1) and water. Additionally, the tensile strength can be determined using a spring force gauge and a ruler. The simplicity of the procedure, use of low-cost materials, and ties to green chemistry make the activity suitable for use in high school or introductory college chemistry settings. Furthermore, procedural variation and more rigorous analysis make the activity versatile by allowing the protocol to be used in second- or third-year chemistry courses (e.g., organic and physical chemistry). Overall, the activity provides a straightforward approach to introducing students to modern topics in polymer chemistry and materials science.