Greetings!

 

Time is flying by during this REU program, and I’m happy to be getting some results:

Monday – Tuesday: Hurricane! Being without power for a little over a day wasn’t the best, but I know some of my other peers still don’t have power. I hope they can stay as long as possible at the lab/library to enjoy the AC, or temporarily stay with other family members.

Wednesday – This day I synthesized 5% silver and 5% palladium doped copper nanocubes. I used silver nitrate, palladium nitrate dihydrate, and the stash of copper oxide nanocubes I previously made. I created my first abstract which was a little difficult for me to start. However, I found that breaking up the abstract “sections” into bullet points made it easier to start creating it. I also found out about the residential college I’ll be staying at – Lovett!

Thursday – I then sprayed the catalyst onto a Gas Diffusion Layer and ran a Flow Cell test. The results came out better than I expected, with a higher percent yield!

Friday – Today I ran a flow cell test with one of the catalysts my mentor previously made to compare percent yields, which I won’t find out until later. A highlight of my day was lunch at the Dandelion Cafe. I ordered the Dandy Bahn Mi as a combo with fries and drink. The meal was a little over $15, but in this particular case it is well worth it in my opinion! The bread wasn’t overly-toasted, and it was like a foot long which I’ve only seen Bahn Mi’s 6-8 inches. The pork was extremely flavorful, it had just the right amount of vegetables, and the jalapeno slices gave some nice heat. It was the perfect Bahn Mi for me and I 10/10 recommend for those who want to try a Bahn Mi sandwich for the first time. Since it was my first time eating there, I challenged myself to eat alone and enjoy good-loneliness. I wanted to prove to myself nobody else is watching or judging me, and to be less self-conscious.

 

This week was short, but sweet. I’m looking forward to making these experiments into the big picture – the poster!

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See ya!

Chloe