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Inorganic Chemistry

Chemistry In Pictures

Chemistry in Pictures: Bluebirds

by Brianna Barbu
September 21, 2023

 

Blue copper sulfate crystals in a beaker. The crystals are vaguely bird-shaped.
Credit: Samie Yaseen

When you look at these crystals, do you see birds in flight? Samie Yaseen did, when he found them at the bottom of a beaker that had formerly held a copper sulfate solution. He left the solution out for 2 months during summer vacation and returned to find that all the liquid had evaporated, leaving behind large, brilliant blue copper sulfate crystals. Yasin is a lecturer and researcher at Duhok Polytechnic University, where he creates copper nanoparticles for sensing pollutants such as the herbicide glyphosate. The phosphate group on glyphosate forms a hydrogen bond to functional groups on the nanoparticle surface, triggering the nanoparticles to aggregate and change colors.

Submitted by Samie Yaseen

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