Week 2

Update from my last post….

The concentrations of methyl orange after UV from our carbonized cotton sheet showed a decrease over time and confirms our nanocomposite was a success.  We followed up on the previous carbonization technique and ran 2 other samples at 500 degrees in order to prevent the denaturing of the titanium dioxide structure.

This week, our main focus was to modify our loading strategy of titanium dioxide to obtain the maximum amount on our cotton sheet.  After reading some recent research, I came across a sol gel process that could work.  We modified the strategy according to the equipment and chemicals we had available in the lab.  We used titanium IV ethoxide to load the sheet directly and added DCM under anhyrdrous conditions.  The sample was left to stir overnight.  I’m in the process of drying it and hopeful that our results will show an increase in titanium dioxide concentration compared to our previous loading technique.

Until next time!

Our previous results were not what we had anticipated, but we were determined to figure out a better strategy to dope our cotton to show an increase in photo-catalytic activity after carbonizing and exposing our nanocomposite under UV.

We decided to use two samples from 2 different loading techniques.    Sheet “A”  was loaded by allowing the TiO₂ & H₂0 solution (1% w/v) to sonicate for 2 hours before carbonization.

Sheet “E” was carbonized after using the direct loading technique (1:1 wt. ratio) using titanium IV ethoxide, and then dried and cured.

10 ml of (20 ppm) methyl orange was added to each of the sample sheets and we recorded readings for each sample under UV and dark conditions every hour for 5 hours.

Our results showed that Sheet “E” decreased significantly in methyl orange concentrations after the first hour.  Sheet “A” showed slower decrease in methyl orange, however, both sheets under dark conditions showed a small decrease in the dye.  Our next step is to figure out a way to polymerize the cotton so that it will maintain its structure and not dissolve over time in the dye.

This week was super busy!! We were getting our lessons worked out, conferencing with Christina about our lesson sketch, completing our research and finalizing our posters.  It was definitely a sweet break spending time together at our field trip to the Desalination Water Plant. Yay!!  (Sadly, most of us didn’t even know the plant existed!)

It was awesome to learn that our desalination plant is the largest inland plant to date.  It has helped our city in providing water for more people and allowed for the replenishing and conservation of our underground water.   Other states are looking to build inland desalination plants modeled after the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant.  The best thing about the plant is the available education, curriculum, and resources for teachers and the entire community!    They offer curriculum that meets state standards, grade-specific lesson activities, demonstrations and lectures that align with classroom instruction.  The Water resources Learning Center is interactive and a fun way for students to learn about water and the Chihuahuan Desert.  The facility is open to the public free of charge and is an incredible establishment for a fun and educational experience!

We made sure to sign up for their mailing list to post us on activities and scheduled events taking place throughout the year 🙂  We would like to thank everyone at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant for giving us the educational tour (especially Jessica).  Thank you Christina, Dr. Loyo and everyone at NEWT for setting up this field trip.  We had an awesome time!!!

Signing off…

The UTEP NEWT crew

Hello Everyone!

I’m really excited to be back in the lab research setting and it is definitely awesome to be privileged to work with a great staff here at UTEP under Dr. Noveron.  We had our first conference meeting where we (NEWT staff and colleagues) presented a brief abstract consisting of an overview of our research projects and to learn a little bit about what everyone else is doing in the lab.

Following up on the plan, Dr. Noveron sat with me to explain his vision for my research by working with Luis Barrera, my mentor and doctorate student.

Currently, I am working on a modified version of Luis’ research in which we use cotton fabric to attach titanium dioxide and carbonize it to produce graphite (graphene sheets).  This will ultimately be used as a water filter to sanitize and purify water to a “food grade” quality.

This week I was able to coat some cotton sheets with titanium dioxide by curing them under high heat. I then cut the sheet into strips to fit it into a ceramic boat to place into a furnace running with argon. I was excited that our carbonization technique worked (after a few stumbling blocks)!

I separated the sheets and added methyl orange to one of our strips.  We ran a series of samples under UV light to test whether the dye would bind to the graphite.

Today, I have some visual positive results!  I can see that the concentration of methyl orange has decreased over time and that is a GOOD SIGN!! Yay!!

The next step is to take the concentrations of each sample which I’m hoping we can get done today.  We will analyze our data and figure out our next steps accordingly.

I look forward to reading more about everyone’s research 🙂