User:James C. Schwabacher/Notebook/Protein-Templated Quantum Dots/2015/01/23

Protein-Templated Quantum Dots

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Objective To complete the sol-gel synthesis begun yesterday Protocol Preparation of 5 mL of 20 mM Sodium sulfide .0246 g of 240.18 MW hydrated Sodium sulfide was dissolved in 5 mL of DI Water 4 mL of 20 mM Sodium sulfide solution were added to the round bottom that had stirred for 24 hrs The resulting solution was transferred to a larger round-bottom flask The reaction continued for 15 minutes before drying on the rotovap Once dry, the residue was rehydrated by the addition of minimal DI Water Observations The resulting material may be a sol-gel, though it is very difficult to tell since it is entirely transparent. It does not appear to move with the typical viscosity of water, but it seems to have less of a structure than the previously synthesized sol-gels. During drying, there were many more bubbles than usual--sometimes behaving more like a mixture of SDS and water. This is perhaps because the solution was only BSA, sulfide and water. Furthermore, the web-like structure resulting from the first few drops of water during rehydration was absent. I am curious to see how these results compare to the trials I am conducting next that contain mercury. Given these preliminary results, it appears that mercury is crucial to sol-gel formation.