Video Lab Manuals

2 small, orange 3D Prints sitting on razor blade

3D Printing (Photolithography)
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 6
Chemicals: 6-Hexanediol diacrylate, Sudan I,
Phenylbis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide
Equipment: projector, magnifying glass, mirror, platform elevator

two test tube held by clamps, holding small amount of clear liquid with white substance settled on bottom

CdS Quantum Dot Nanoparticles
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 7
Chemicals: CdO, Oleic Acid, Selenium, Trioctylphosphine, Octadecene
Equipment: cuvet, visible absorption spectrometer

several glass test tubes in rack holding small amounts of liquid ranging form clear on the left through shade of yellow to dark orange and red on the right.

CdSe Quantum Dot Nanoparticle Preparation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 7
Chemicals: 0.012 M CdCl2, 0.012 M Na2S.9H2O, Hexadecyltrimethylammonium Bromide, Heptane, Pentanol
Equipment: microcentrifuge, UV light source

3 small, plastic sample tubes holding small amount of colored liquid on bottom

CdSe Quantum Dot Nanoparticles Isolation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 10
Chemicals: CdSe, Ethanol, Hexane
Equipment: stirrer hotplate, 1 mL syringe with needle, 25 mL heating mantle and controller, absorbance spectrometer, emission spectrometer

Hand spreading small amount of substance on LC film

Cholesteryl Ester Liquid Crystal Thermometer Preparation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 7
Chemicals: Cholesteryl Ester
Equipment: hand crank generator, peltier square heating and cooling block

3 small glass vials of iridescent Liquid Crystals

Cholesteryl Ester Liquid Crystals Preparation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 5
Chemicals: Cholesteryl Oleyl Carbonate, Cholestery Pelargonate, Cholesteryl Benzoate
Equipment: heat gun or hair dryer

a PVC pipe above the coil of the electroscope induces an electric charge in the foil leaves that are now separated

Do-It-Yourself Electroscope
Time: 20-60 min
# of Steps: 11
Chemicals: None
Equipment: Drill (with drill bit), Wood/Metal (to place dish on while boring hole), Needle nose pliers, Scotch Tape, Scissors, Hole punch or pencil

Prusion Blue Film hanging from rod into top half of beaker whose bottom half is filled with dark liquid

Electrochromic Prussian Blue Thin Films
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 6
Chemicals: 0.05 M HCl, 0.05 M K3[Fe(CN)6], 0.05 M FeCl3.6H2O, 1.0 M KCl
Equipment: conductive glass, ohmeter, Pt wire or graphite electrode, 1.5 volt battery, 50 K ohm variable resistor, electrochemical apparatus

F-center Production
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 5
Chemicals: KCl, NaCl, KBr
Equipment: powder X-ray diffractometer

hand pour clear liquid from small plastic weighboat into empty 50 mL beaker

Ferrofluid Synthesis: Buret
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 12
Chemicals: 2 M HCl, 2.0 M FeCl2(H2O)4, 1.0 M FeCl3(H2O)6, 1.0 M NH3, 25% tetramethylammonium hydroxide
Equipment: strong craft magnets, cow magnets, XRD spectrometer and glass slides

Ferrofluid Synthesis: Glass Rod
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 12
Chemicals: 2 M HCl, 2.0 M FeCl2(H2O)4, 1.0 M FeCl3(H2O)6, 1.0 M NH3, 25% tetramethylammonium hydroxide
Equipment: strong craft magnets, cow magnets, XRD spectrometer and glass slides

Fuel Cell model with plastic syringe next to readout that says .866

Fuel Cell (Nafion) Preparation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 14
Chemicals: Nichrome Wire Mesh, Chloroplatinic Acid, Nafion Membrane, Sodium borohydride, 5-Minute Epoxy
Equipment: AA battery holders, wires with alligator clips, multimeter, plastic syringes, lighter

Gel stretched across petri dish. gel line transitions in color from blue on left to red on right

Gelatin Microfluidics
Time: Overnight
# of Steps: 9
Chemicals: Knox Gelatin, Food Coloring
Equipment: 22 gauge insulated wire, wire cutter

looking into small glass beaker filled with red liquid with red laser pointer shining through it left to right

Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 4
Chemicals: 1.0 mM Hydrogen Tetrachloroaurate, 1% Trisodium Citrate, NaCl Solution, Sports Drink
Equipment: Laser Pointer, Polarizing Filter

Graphene Synthesis via Chemical Vapor Deposition

Time: 30-45 min
# of Steps: 11
Chemicals: isopropanol, acetic acid, etc.
Equipment: quartz tubing, stopper, burner, alcohol, white vinegar, parafilm, ni foil, needle, rubber stopper, nitrogen tank, etc.

small glass test tube on its side with metal hook pulling substance through opening

Inverse Opal Photonic Crystals Synthesis
Time: Overnight
# of Steps: 5
Chemicals: Polymethacrylate Spheres, 100% Ethanol, Tetraethylorthosilicate, Hydrochloric Acid
Equipment: tube furnace

LED strip with 6 bulbs. One lit up orange in the the middle, held in hand

Light Emitting Diodes and Periodic Properties: National Instruments Elvis
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 8
Chemicals:
Equipment: LED’s, sesistors, CdS semiconductor photocell

LED photocell, two alligator clips holding wires connected to unlit LED bulb

Light Emitting Diodes and Periodic Properties: Voltmeter
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 8
Chemicals:
Equipment: LED’s, resistors, CdS semiconductor photocell

fingers holding small binder clips that are holding small liquid crystal cells

Liquid Crystal Pixel Preparation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 13
Chemicals: Polyvinyl Alcohol, 4’-Pentyl-4-Biphenyl-Carbonitrile
Equipment: LED’s, conductive glass, polarizing filters, 9V battery

Liquid Crystal Watch Disassembly
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 10
Chemicals:
Equipment: inexpensive LCD watch, 9-volt battery, polarizing filters

micelle series, 12 small cubes of clear to light yellow substances

Micelle Critical Concentration
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 5
Chemicals: 0.070 M sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2- naphthol
Equipment: cuvets, visible absorbance spectrometer

gloves hand holding mirror with substans

Microcontact Printing with Thiols
Time: 3-6 Hours
# of Steps: 14
Chemicals: 0.8 M KOH, 0.1 M Silver Nitrate, 15 M Ammonia, Ag(NH3)2+, 0.5 M Glucose, Alkanethiol Solution
Equipment: PDMS base, curing agent, oven

Micro fluidic nanofiliter in petri dish, held by gloved hand

Microfluidic Nanofilter
Time: 3-6 Hours
# of Steps: 18
Chemicals: 0.5 M Glucose, 0.8 M KOH, 0.1 M Silver Nitrate, NH4OH, Alkanethiol Solution, Epoxy, 6-Diaminohexane Epoxy Hardener Solution, Acid Chloride Epoxy Resin Solution
Equipment: plastic tube, syringe

Microwave Synthesis of Zinc Hydroxy Sulfate Nanoplates and Zinc 2 Oxide Nanorods in the Classroom
Time: 1 h – 1h 30 mins
# of Steps: 4
Chemicals: zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods and zinc hydroxy 37 sulfate , 3Zn(OH)2·ZnSO4·0.5H2O, (ZHS) nanoplates
HMT, Zn(NO3)2, ZnSO4
Equipment: projector, magnifying glass, mirror, platform elevator, optical microscope, tabletop scanning electron microscope (SEM), microwave

Fluoresce, small circles, on left not glowing, on right glowing red

Nanocrystalline Y2O3: Eu Phosphor
Time: Overnight
# of Steps: 10
Chemicals: Yttrium(III) Nitrate Hexahydrate, Europium(III) Nitrate Hexahydrate, Urea
Equipment: oven, UV light, powder diffractometer

Nickel Nanowires Synthesis: Beaker
Time: 3-6 Hours
# of Steps: 12 Steps
Chemicals: GaIn Eutectic, Nickel Plating Solution, Ni Wire, Nitric Acid
Equipment: whatman anodisc alumina filters, strong magnet, AA battery holders, wires with alligator clips, copper sheet

Nickel Nanowires Synthesis: Syringe
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 12
Chemicals: GaIn Eutectic, Nickel Plating Solution, Ni Wire, Nitric Acid
Equipment: whatman anodisc alumina filters, strong magnet, 1-1/8″ OD x 7/8″ ID x 1/8″ W o-ring, acrylic square, 30 mL plastic syringes, AA battery holders, wires with alligator clips

Water drops bead up on a monolayer surface

Octadecanethiol Monolayer on Silver
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 4
Chemicals: 0.8 M KOH, 0.1 M Silver Nitrate, 15 M Ammonia, Ag(NH3)2+, 0.5 M Glucose, Alkanethiol Solution
Equipment:

LED on thin plastic film. 6 nodes, one lit up orange

Organic Light Emitting Diodes
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 7
Chemicals: 0.30 g PVA, 0.035 g [Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2, GaIn Eutectic
Equipment: conductive glass, ohmeter, 2500 rpm fan, hair dryer, 4.5V power supply

PDMS Fluidics experimental set up using binder clips holding both end of film with dots of clear substance on top.

PDMS Isopropanol Microfluidics
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 9
Chemicals: PDMS Base and Curing Agent, Isopropyl Alcohol, Red and Blue Food Coloring
Equipment: plexiglass rectangle, puffy paint

PDMS Soft Lithography
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 6
Chemicals: PDMS Base, Curing Agent
Equipment: sonicator, optical transform slides, oven, laser pointer

PMMA Diffraction, hand holding toothpick with small paper taped to it, on top of 20 mL beaker

PMMA Nanosphere Diffraction
Time: 2 Days
# of Steps: 8
Chemicals: PMMA Nanospheres, Isopropanol
Equipment: diamond tip pencil, oven, visible spectrometer

PMMA Nanospheres Preparation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 11
Chemicals: Methyl Methacrylate, 2-Azobis Dihydrochloride
Equipment: reusable teflon joint sleeves, nitrogen, septum, hoses, syringe needles, centrifuge

Shaking Triboelectric Nanogenerator
Time: 15 min
# of Steps: 8
Chemicals: Transparent office tape or FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene) tape, double-sided tape
Equipment: Scissors, wire strippers

Silver nanoparticles in small glass test tube bottom

Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 9
Chemicals: 0.001M AgNO3, 0.002M NaBH4, 0.3% PVP Solution, PVA Solid
Equipment: laser pointer, toaster oven or overnight drying

Superconductor, small magnet floating over foam that has mist from liquid nitrogen

Superconductor Synthesis
Time: Overnight
# of Steps: 7
Chemicals: CuO, Y2O3, BaCO3
Equipment: 400°C muffle furnace, pellet die and press, tube furnace, small magnet, liquid nitrogen

Surface Conductive Glass Preparation
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 8
Chemicals: SnCl45H2O, Methanol
Equipment: oven, syringe

Tapping Triboelectric Nanogenerator
Time: 15 min
# of Steps: 11
Chemicals: Transparent office tape or FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene) tape
Equipment: Scissors, wire strippers

TiO2 sample held by 2 small binder clips

Titanium Dioxide Raspberry Solar Cell
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 11
Chemicals: Nanocrystalline TiO2, Acetic Acid, Dishwashing Detergent, Ethanol, KI3
Equipment: projector, syringe, conductive glass, multimeter, frozen raspberries, candle

WO3, funnel over 250mL beaker with clear/yellowish liquid 1/3 full

Tungsten Trioxide Intercalation
Time: 3-6 Hours
# of Steps: 5
Chemicals: Tungsten trioxide, granule 20 mesh Zn, HCl, Polyethylene Rod
Equipment: suction flask, drill and bit, 6-32 tap, thumbscrews, multimeter

hand scraping Zeolite sample into small plastic bottle

Zeolite ZSM5 Preparation and Catalysis of Xylene Isomerization
Time: 3-6 Hours
# of Steps: 17
Chemicals: Aluminum oxide, NaOH, LUDOX HS-30 Colloidal Silica, Tetrapropylammonium Bromide, Ammonium Sulfate, Barium Chloride, Acetone, Nitrogen, o-xylene
Equipment: pH paper, oven, suction filtration apparatus, alundum boat, tube furnace, catalytic reactor, NMR spectrometer

glass stir rod inside glass test tube that is sitting in 250mL glass beaker with red and white wires submerged in clear liquid

ZnO Quantum Dot Nanospheres
Time: 1-2 Hours
# of Steps: 6
Chemicals: Zn(CH3CO2)2.H2O, (CH3)2CHOH, NaOH
Equipment: UV Spectrometer, cuvets

Video Lab Manuals

Click on the links below to view step-by-step procedures with accompanying videos.