Palm from Silver

Year: 
2019
Ranking: 
Entrant
Artist: 
Stephanie Wang (Graduate Student), Sebastian Hietzschold
Department: 
Chemistry

Description

This palm tree is actually two attempts at making silver nanoparticles with ATP. Our goal was to use reagents found in living organisms so that nanoparticles can be used in plants or animals safely since the normal method leaves toxic residues. We formed these monstrosities instead of spheres.

There were some weird readings from other characterization techniques such as a very small electron count for a very large diameter, so we opted to observe a dropcast of our nanoparticles with a transmission electron microscope to take a look on the nanometer scale. The data collected from the TEM have shown us which compounds in solution are acting as capping agents as well, which is helping our lab identify other potential reducing and capping agents that can be used in combination with each other. Two images have been overlaid here to illustrate the fractal nature of these palm trees and a cell wall-like layer was added for visual interest and as a nod to the fact that this project started with mashed up plants as our reducing reagents.

CSEPSchuller LabCNSIUCSBMOXI