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Wendy Li, Week 7


EXP has finally come to an end. Considering that silicon wafer should be better for dropcasting, I then created PS film embedded with gold nanorod on silicon substrate and measured it with ellipsometer. Besides, I finally got the chance to perform SEM imaging to sample films to see the overall dispersion and out-of–plane orientation of nanorods. As a result, nanorods were mostly evenly distributed all over the film; however, they are distributed in small nanorod clusters, suggesting that I can still dilute the nanorod solution for future adjustment of this research.
As my 7-week research came to an end, I would like to thank all my group mates, especially Subarna and Lexi, for supporting my summer research throughout last two months. In addition to broadening my theoretical knowledge, gaining lots of hand on experience with all these fantastic facilities, and gradually growing up towards a real researcher, I am really grateful for being a part of the group. It was a pleasure to watch and learn from all my group mates. In particular, I appreciate the time they took from their busy schedules to advise me to make sure that I am properly trained to use all the equipment and their patience to answer all my questions. Our weekly group meetings were really helpful and offered me with many crucial advice for my work. My experience was very rewarding and I have gained valuable insight into the polymers and surface dynamics. I thoroughly enjoyed doing research and it was a pleasure being part of such a great group. This summer research has definitely increased my interest in pursuing a career in chemistry.
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