Vietnamese students win first gold medal in 2024 Chemistry Project Olympiad

On February 5, according to information from the Department of Secondary Education - Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnamese students participated for the first time in the final round of the 2024 Chemistry Project Olympiad held at Moscow State University (Russian Federation), and won high prizes.

Specifically, Le Minh Duc, a 10th grader from the High School for Gifted Students of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, won the Gold Medal and Le Huynh Anh Quy, a 12th grader from Le Quy Don High School for Gifted Students, Da Nang, won the Bronze Medal. Their achievements helped the Vietnamese delegation receive the Best Team Cup from the Organizing Committee.

The Project Chemistry Olympiad (PCO) is held for high school students from grades 8 to 11 (according to the Russian general education system, there are only 11 grades) at the Faculty of Chemistry - Moscow State University (Russian Federation) since 2020.

Candidates participating in PCO must go through two rounds: theoretical round (qualifying round, held locally) and practical round (final round).

In the theoretical round, candidates will do some theoretical exercises related to inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry and organic chemistry. Candidates with good results will participate in the practical exam.

The practical part consists of two steps. Initially, each contestant is asked to propose an optimal solution to a specific problem. After reporting to the Board of Judges, the contestant will carry out the project in the laboratory for two sessions (each session is four hours) to turn the project into reality. Contestants are only allowed to use the chemicals specified by the Organizing Committee.

This year, for the first time Vietnam participated in the competition, four students passed the qualifying round and participated in the final round of the Chemistry Project Olympiad, including: Ha Thanh Nhan, Ngo Chau Hoang, Le Huynh Anh Quy from Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted - Da Nang and Le Minh Duc from High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences - Hanoi National University.

Ha Thanh Nhan's project is Synthesis of umbelliferon-4-acetic acid with high efficiency and demonstration of product quality by instrumental analysis.

Ngo Chau Hoang's project is Synthesis of 2,6-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)piperidine-4-one with high yield and demonstration of product quality by instrumental analysis.

Le Huynh Anh Quy's project is Synthesis of 5-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane-4,6-dione with high yield and demonstration of product quality by instrumental analysis.

Le Minh Duc's project is Synthesis of ammonium metavanadate (NH4VO3) with high efficiency using 5 g of technical vanadium (V) oxide containing impurities dissolved in water; confirmation of the qualitative composition of the obtained product by non-instrumental methods (titration or gravimetric measurement); based on the analysis results, calculate the mass fraction of impurities in V2O5.

These are research-based, challenging and interesting science projects for Vietnamese students.

In 2024, the number of candidates participating in the qualifying round of the Chemistry Project Olympiad is nearly 1,500 students from all over Russia.

There were also contestants from Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, India, Türkiye, Brazil, Vietnam... participating in the qualifying round, but only Vietnamese contestants passed the qualifying round.