This week was filled with intensive and productive lab work.

Monday: My mentor and I modified our Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) using a reflux setup to introduce different ligands. We aimed to identify the ligand with the highest efficiency for rare earth element (REE) absorption in water. Given that the reaction required 72 hours to complete, we initiated the process and planned to revisit it on Thursday.

Tuesday to Wednesday: We conducted a series of absorption tests on our previously synthesized and modified MOF materials during the waiting period for our newly modified MOF. We prepared solutions of rare earth elements in water and introduced our MOF samples into these solutions. To monitor the absorption process, we collected samples at various time intervals: initially, after 15 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes, 6 hours, and 24 hours. Each sample was then centrifuged to separate the MOF precipitate containing REEs from the water. Subsequently, my mentor performed an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis to measure the ion concentration in each sample. This analysis is crucial as it enables us to determine which modified MOF exhibits the most effective absorption of REEs from the water.

Thursday: We filtered our newly modified MOF material from Monday using vacuum filtration, allowing it to dry overnight in preparation for further processing.

Friday: The day was dedicated to the meticulous washing of the new MOF material. We performed three washes using dimethylformamide (DMF), ethanol, and hexane, respectively. Each wash was followed by centrifugation to separate the MOF precipitate from the solvents. This careful washing process ensures the purity of our final solid MOF products. After the washing process, the samples were left to dry overnight, after which they will be placed in a vacuum oven to obtain the final solid MOF products.