Today my mentor and I learned how to use the FT-IR machine. Wikipedia has this to say about the machine: “Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a technique used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a solid, liquid or gas.” We used this spectroscopy to see if APTES has attached to SiO_2. We are trying to use APTES as a link for the nano particles to attach to. Unfortunately we saw very low absorption that we think is APTES. This mean that the functionalization ether didn’t work or there is a very small amount that stuck. In our experiment we will see if that was enough APETS.
Me working with the FT-IR machine
The best part of using the FT-IR was that it needs liquid nitrogen to keep it cool, so even though the results weren’t what we had hoped for we(I) still had a blast. Sometimes all you need is a little child like wonder.
The Leidenfrost effect cleaning our dirty floor.
If you want to learn more this effect I recommend this video:
Look at your big fancy words, Leidenfrost effect. I wonder where you learned it from. 😛