Colors!

A friend was making some starting materials and [they] allowed me to take some photos of these beautiful compounds. Bright colors are definitely among the top reasons to love inorganic chemistry.

Update: #chempaperaday and other things...

It's been a very long time I haven't written any posts. Well, the Fall semester started and it's been incredibly busy. I teach two lab sections, grade papers, hold office hours, answer tons of emails from students (this was unexpected!), take my own courses and study for them AND do the assignments! I also try to keep my research alive and move on to further steps in my "projects." 

If anyone is wondering, #chempaperaday is still alive and I do read papers almost everyday. The problem is most of these papers are related with my research and I do not want to write about them. Obviously,  I am trying to make new compounds. So, just by following the papers I read, one might figure out what I am onto (more or less). That's why I will keep them to myself.

I have read other papers too. But, as I mentioned above I have been busy and trying to figure out my new life schedule. So, I couldn't really focus on the blog. Tens of different blog post topics and ideas have come to my mind while I was dealing with all those stuff. Now that I am more comfortable with my schedule and more organized, I will write posts more often. The next post is coming tonight!

Thanks if you are reading here.

Grad school update

It's been 2.5 weeks since I started. The first week, I was exhausted when I got home. There were a few days that I fell asleep! I think I started to get better (especially physically) during the second week. This week, I am sure I am fit enough to think and plan the next day and conduct the experiments. I am now in a better position in terms of my personal schedule. I have just started to go back to reading my books and textbooks again. I am really happy that I started grad school early in the summer without even giving any break after my graduation from the college.

About research? I have been reading some literature and running experiments. Although I am having hard time to characterize my paramagnetic metal complexes, I am learning a lot. Overall, I like what I am doing and it totally makes sense.

#realtimechem (9 AM) precipitation

Another reason to love chemistry. Isn't it magic?