So with my catalysts synthesis I am getting some horrible results. I decided I needed to try a new matrix for my catalyst to see if I could get better results, so I made my own on a MALDI plate. Still waiting on the results.
We've been using a laser engraver for some patterning, but there's this green focus light that keeps damaging our samples, and I wanted to see if there's an easy way to unplug what I thought was the diode. Turns out lasers are difficult and I don't understand what going on. I was terrified of opening the laser box while it was on, so I had 4 pairs of laser goggles on for my safety. I need to reach out to the group in our building that works with lasers and see if they can help me.
I spent a while today working in the cleanroom. It was a hectic day, and of course the nitrogen tanks were out, they were out of other essentials, so I spent 45 minutes just running around getting stuff set-up. I'm having difficulty getting my surfaces to functionalize, so I'm attempting to reoxidize them. I used piranha solution for the first time today and it was so nerve-wracking. I tried functionalizing my sample and I'll see tomorrow if it's working again.
On the other hand I'm trying to purify a substituent for a catalyst, and we have an auto column, but it's been having a lot of issues, and today it didn't even fully fill each tube in the fraction collector. This stupid thing is genuinely the worst piece of equipment I've ever dealt with.
I've mainly been working on a presentation covering megalibraries in in materials chemistry. I don't really understand perovskites too much since I do work with polymers but the concept is interesting. My criticism of Mirkin's work though is that they oversell the library size. They claim libraries in the millions but the actual number of unique compounds is in the hundreds of thousands. Still really impressive, seeing that I work on a 5 digit scale, but not as big of a number as 1 million.
My undergrad has made some really cool progress on the photolithography stuff that he's been working on. We've been struggling with overexposure of the photoresist, but the last few samples have had really good definition, and we're in 100 micron scale at this point. He's only been in the lab for the last few weeks, so I'm really proud of the progress he's made.
I'm trying to synthesize two catalysts, and so far have no made progress. The goal is a catalyst that is fully aromatic, but it's also extremely bulky and it's extremely difficult to attach the substituents as well as get the reaction to go to good conversion. Purifying it is also extremely difficult because it's so polar. I've been taking the approach where I just keep dumping base into the reaction until something happens, which is an extremely crude method but it seemingly did something this time. I need to run mass spec on these samples to see what I synthesized.
On the side of days of productivity I'm really struggling to keep up. I guess I'm so busy in lab that I forget to post pretty frequently. This is my blog so realistically I can do whatever I want, but I would like to stick to a schedule that includes me posting everyday. I guess the point of the challenge is to help with productivity and to challenge you to do better. Working on it.
These graphene experts are trying to close the reproducibility gap in 2D materials research
Too much work on graphene and related materials cannot be repeated—a problem that wastes time and holds back commercialization. New rules could help solve it
Ever since graphene’s debut in 2004, this atom-thin sheet of carbon has been touted as a revolutionary material because of its remarkable strength and electrical conductivity, as well as other outstanding properties. Its discovery triggered a wave of other 2D materials—including hexagonal boron nitride and molybdenum disulfide—many of which could serve as components in electronic devices.
But these materials can be difficult to work with; even minor variations in lab conditions can affect their properties. Researchers often find that results produced by another lab cannot be replicated in their own. Some believe that this “reproducibility gap” is slowing the translation of 2D materials into applications—a process known as technology transfer. “We can’t say we are working in a serious way on tech transfer if at the same time we’re not doing proper work on reporting and transparency,” says Peter Bøggild, who researches 2D materials at the Technical University of Denmark.
So I do work with polymer brushes, and my goal right now is growing longer polymer brushes. I've synthesized several fluorescent monomers but currently I'm struggling to get good growth. I recently tried mixing several different fluorescent monomers on one wafer and I don't believe it was successful. I'm going to image it Friday.
Right now I'm really struggling with the polymer brush growth and I believe it's how I'm functionalizing my surfaces. It's several steps and somewhere along the way I think that something is not attaching properly. I'm unsure why, so I'm going to need to go by every step and analyze it.
Scientists built a battery-free device that turns sunlight into fuel
This battery-free artificial photosynthesis breakthrough could make turning sunlight, water, and CO2 into usable fuel far simpler and cheaper.
Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have created a new artificial photosynthesis system that can generate solar fuel more consistently while eliminating the need for battery based control equipment. The advance comes from integrating a self regulating chemical component directly into the electrolyzer, reducing both system complexity and cost.
Like natural photosynthesis in plants, artificial photosynthesis uses sunlight to transform water and carbon dioxide into energy rich compounds. One such product is formic acid, a chemical that can serve as a fuel and a way to store energy.
How Artificial Photosynthesis Produces Solar Fuel
At the heart of these systems is an electrolyzer, which converts electricity from solar cells into chemical energy. That energy is then stored in the form of fuels such as formic acid.
I've mainly been working on a presentation for our group meeting today, as well as helping our undergrad out on the project that they lead but I mentor them on.
I've been following a lot of Mirkin's work on hard materials for catalysis and nanoreactors using polymer pen lithography and scanning probe block co-polymer lithography, and I am working on a larger materials library myself but my library is only in the tens of thousands. I'm presenting on the mega libraries the Mirkin has developed.
My undergrad is trying to take a cheap benchtop method to develop maskless photolithography to be able to save me from going out to a cleanroom to pattern wafers. It's been going pretty badly until yesterday, when they made this sample, which aside from some issues, is extremely clean, probably the best sample we've gotten yet.
Fatigue Performance in Additive Manufacturing: Challenges for Design, Testing, and Qualification
Defects, residual stress, and anisotropy may reduce fatigue strength in 3D‑printed parts, making robust qualification testing essential for adoption
As additive manufacturing (AM) transitions from prototyping into the production of structural and safety-critical components subjected to repeated loading, fatigue performance becomes a central concern. While the fundamental principles of fatigue remain unchanged, the nature of additive manufacturing introduces additional complexities that must be considered during testing.
Why Fatigue Matters in Additive Manufacturing
Fatigue testing has been routinely conducted for conventionally manufactured components to characterize long-term behavior, demonstrate compliance with international standards, or provide material input data for finite element analysis (FEA) and life prediction models. These same motivations now apply to additively manufactured parts.
I'm surprised honestly that I've gotten even to four days of productivity in this challenge. I took the 3 day weekend, but now I'm back in the lab. I've been working on a presentation and honestly spending all my time on that. I've been looking into combinatorial materials libraries for this. Honestly this was a bit of a slow day.
Most Complex Nanoparticle Crystal Ever Made by Design: Possible applications include controlling light, capturing pollutants, delivering therapeutics
The most complex crystal designed and built from nanoparticles has been reported by researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. The work demonstrates that some of nature’s most complicated structures can be deliberately assembled if researchers can control the shapes of the particles and the way they connect using DNA.
“This is a tour de force demonstration of what is possible when one harnesses the chemistry of DNA and combines it with nanoparticles whose shapes encourage a particular crystal structure,” said Chad A. Mirkin, the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern.
Nanotechnology promises to bring materials together in new ways, forging new capabilities by design. One potential application for crystals built of nanoparticles, such as these newly reported ones, is the control of light – nanoparticles interact well with light waves because they are similar in size. This could lead to materials that can change colors or patterns on command or block certain wavelengths of light, while transmitting or amplifying others. New types of lenses, lasers and even Star Trek-like cloaking materials are possible.
“This work shows that nanoparticle crystals of extraordinary complexity are possible with DNA technology, once one begins to exploit particle shape,” said Sharon C. Glotzer, the John W. Cahn Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering at U-M. “And, it’s a great example of what can be achieved by experimentalists and simulators teaming up.”
The most complex crystal ever designed and built from nanoparticles has been reported by @IINanoNU professor Chad Mirkin and @u_michigan researchers. New types of lenses, lasers and even #StarTrek-like cloaking materials are possible applications. Make it so! Photo courtesy of University of Michigan. #Northwestern #nanoscience http://ift.tt/2mVGYuA
Cracking a long-standing problem in high-entropy alloy nanoparticle synthesis
Composed of five or more elements in nearly equal amounts, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have emerged as promising catalysts due to their compositionally complex surfaces that can accelerate chemical reactions. Until now, scientists have not been able to precisely engineer these surface structures at the nanoscale, making it difficult to study how particle shape influences catalytic performance. Now, a study led by Northwestern University professors Chad A. Mirkin and Christopher M. Wolverton has solved that problem. The research is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
I'm working on new fluorescent monomers. The type of polymerization I work with is (I think) blocking access to bulky monomers, which all fluorescent ones are, causing them to not incorporate. I also cut some more wafer and functionalized them, and tried a new polymerization. I'm not feeling great about it, but I can try my best I guess. I'll characterize them tomorrow.
Technically not late since I thought I posted this but I actually just posted it in drafts. I didn't get a lot of experimental work done, but I did dry down some reactions that I purified, and I submitted them for mass spec and NMR. My vacuum pump has also been having issues, so I spent way too long purging and refilling it more than once.
which turns into reading another cool paper that the first paper referenced
that turns into getting to lab mid afternoon because you woke up at noon
staying in lab late into the evening because there’s just so much to do
wanting to be aesthetic, but knowing that wearing nice clothes into lab is a bad idea (:’()
blue light glasses to protect your eyes from strain as you analyze data
going back to lab late at night to rerun an experiment because the data sucked and you have group meeting tomorrow
the wonderful feeling of finally troubleshooting that one experiment correctly
having science idols that you gaze wonderingly at when you see them at conferences
struggling through a class even but you enjoy it because sometimes learning is just hard
students emailing you with questions about the class you’re TA-ing causing you to wonder when you became the Adult In Charge who Knows Things
talking with your PI/ older grad students and realizing that you definitely are NOT the Adult In Charge who Knows Things but that’s a good thing because it means that you’re in the right place to learn
when your NMR shows your expected product and the MS shows high purity (tears of joy)
being the nerd in all your conversations with non-Science people and pulling out fun facts about solubility rules, thermodynamics, or the ultimate crowd pleaser: molecular quantum mechanics
getting really excited meeting another person your age from your field even if your projects are totally different
remembering even that when science is kicking your butt… you’re doing something cool that will have an impact and that no-one else has done yet!
I'm going into my fourth year starting August, which feels... bizarre to say the least. Partially because it feels like I've been at this forever, and partially because I can't believe how much time has passed. I remember looking up to the fourth years in my group when I joined, but now that I'm in their shoes I feel just as unknowledgeable as I did as a first year. People have started expecting me to be the knowledgeable one, to be the mentor, and I feel so out of place being in that position.
My PhD felt turbulent to say the least. I struggled with bad grades and mental health issues my first year, particularly my first semester, partially to do with moving to a new city, partially to do with really being alone for the first time. I went in to grad school with the expectation that it would feel like work, but it honestly did feel like undergrad 2.0. I felt extremely alienated. Another heartache was the lab group that I really wanted to join turned me down, and I just felt directionless.
After finally joining a lab, I thought everything would go smoothly. I started research, and I loved the project idea. I wanted to work with organic chemistry and materials, and this project was just that. One of the biggest hurdles of grad school, that I think people aren't the most upfront about, is how much time you can spend recreating an experiment. It took me seven months to synthesize a single compound, and this was just the base compound for all my research. It was so disheartening. I struggled so much without help, and I think I cried from happiness when I managed to get the compound. I learned many things, and came out a more independent and stronger researcher because of it. But I hit hurdle after hurdle. Conflicts with labmates, slow progress, conflicts with my PI, funding issues, failure after failure after failure. I remember spending 3 months trying the same experiment over and over and over again due to my PIs insistence that it should work. And it didn't. It never ended up working.
Things came to a head Summer 2025, when a culmination of funding issues federally, state-wide, and institute driven ended with me cut off from funding. I made the poor choice of picking a group that was flat broke, and when push came to shove, we were the first on the chopping block. I remember just crying in our side room about how my choice was to hope and pray, or quit my PhD, and the feeling of losing two years of my life to something that cost me so much. It was the first time I truly felt unimportant and replaceable, and that my research was virtually worthless. I really struggled, and I decided I would try to switch research groups. While not common, it happens. There's a stigma attached to it, but at the same time sometimes it's the only thing keeping someone in grad school. So I did. Later on another faculty member told me that everyone in the department was rooting for me to find a new group since they knew I had to drive.
So last fall I joined a new professor's group. He is fresh out of a post doc, and we sat down and essentially designed a project that would be a compromise of both of our research interests. We set up the lab together, I worked with deciding what we did and didn't need. It felt strange at first being a third year in a lab that was less than a month old, but at the same time it felt like a fresh start. We gained two grad students and a few undergrads and research started chugging along. I love this work, and it's finally related to exactly what I want to do.
At the same time I feel like I have just thrown myself into work, but the academic side of it is falling apart for me. I never give myself a chance to organize myself, write things down properly, not just scribbled on printer paper. I don't spend the amount of time I need reading, and I design experiments on a whim. I feel like I want to work more on that, on feeling like the academic I am rather than just a labrat. But alas, such is the PhD. It's hard coming to terms with how much time is spent, and sometimes wasted, doing the PhD, especially in wet lab research. I'm going to need an extra year to graduate, and coming to terms with that has been hard. It's a joke that I'm the group doomer, that I'm the tired, jaded older grad student who does whatever, comes in whenever, and doesn't give a fuck about anything.
Because I am jaded, and I am tired. I feel like this work so far has put me through the wringer in a way I never expected. I was touring some prospective grad students a few months ago, and at one point one of them asked me point blank "Do you like [school]?" And I had to hesitate. I couldn't just say no, it's not all been suffering and I didn't want to make them afraid of their grad school experience. But I couldn't say yes either. It was a heavy question, and I answered it, but not in a way I was satisfied with. I don't know if I like it, because I do, but also, I don't.
This has been the most difficult thing I've ever done, and it's not getting easier. Sometimes I reflect on how things have been, and all these what-ifs if things had gone differently. But I'm trying to accept things. I'm trying to participate, and I'm trying to be present. And in grad school sometimes all that matters is trying.
