This was a week of hands-on, independent work. My mentor showed me how to do everything last week and left me to my own devices. The week started off really well. I started by using a scanning electron microscope (with lots of help); the images you can capture are amazing, though not magnified enough to see individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

I then worked on purifying a sample of CNTs — first through an acid wash and then a water wash. Later in the week, I learned how to purify the sample even more by burning off amorphous carbon in a furnace.

I also spent a lot of time analyzing Raman data and looking at TGA data. I’m finally beginning to understand what all the graphs and charts mean!

I did accidentally break a slide when trying to find the CNTs on the Raman microscope. I felt really silly and anxious about it. The folks in the lab made me feel better though. And, I got to experience a little anxiety about learning something new — which put me in the place of my students. So, a good experience all around.