Achievement

A research project begun by MCTP Fellow Shabnam Virji (Prof. Kaner’s lab) to develop gas sensors using conducting polymer nanofibers became a major educational project when Prof. Sarah Tolbert suggested that this work would make an excellent addition to the MCTP training laboratory. With the help of MCTP Fellow Heather Shepherd (Prof. Garrell’s group), the team developed an experiment in which graduate students synthesize nanofibers of the conducting polymer polyaniline and use them to detect acids and bases. This experiment was then used in an undergraduate laboratory and next made accessible to high school teachers who are trained by MCTP Fellows during 1-day workshops held at UCLA. Each teacher is given a kit containing enough materials and equipment to demonstrate this nanoscience experiment to all their high school science students. The complete experiment was published this year in the Journal of Chemical Education with a student’s and instructor’s manual available via the web.