Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Polymers

Chemistry In Pictures

Chemistry in Pictures: Initiate crystallization!

by Brianna Barbu
April 14, 2022

 

small white crystals growing on the bottom of a petri dish.
Credit: Keldy Mason
crytals growing in a beaker.
Credit: Keldy Mason

The literature said that the phenylsulfonamide that Keldy Mason was going to use to initiate a polymerization reaction was supposed to be a white solid. But the substance he had was a thick oil–that is, until he noticed crystals growing on the rim of a test tube. So he poured the solution into a petri dish, scratched the glass to give the crystals some texture to latch onto, and hoped for the best. To his delight, it didn’t take long for the dish to become covered in crystals. He was able to grow even bigger crystals in future purification attempts. Mason plans to use the initiator to make linear copolymers using the ring-opening metathesis polymerization reaction, and then test out various copolymer architectures to see which ones lead to the best mechanical properties.

Credit: Keldy Mason

Follow the Page group at @zpagegroup on Instagram and Twitter

Do science. Take pictures. Win money. Enter our photo contest here.

Click here to see more Chemistry in Pictures.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.