Blackberries! Loads of them! Going back tomorrow for more. Will make a crumble and jam. Have a plan for some colorimetry too😀#GardenIndicators

I’m flying out to San Diego for #ACSSpring2025 today! Here’s a reminder of the chemistry that cleans the air you breathe on a plane in @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/safety/consu... #ChemSky 🧪

I’ve been testing out ‘things that glow’ for our chemistry club. A Horse chestnut branch in water just blew my mind! Thanks @andrestrujado.bsky.social for the suggestion ages ago. The others are pumpkin, sesame and fennel seeds in vodka!

Here’s the pH profile of a small purple viola petal used as a cake decoration. I resisted the temptation to eat it, instead it gave itself to science! #GardenIndicators

It’s #RSCPoster day and #gardenindicators day in the lab: Is it spring yet?

I had to buy some flowers for a practical at work, naturally I chose the ones I thought would give an interesting pH profile. Nice colour with Al ³⁺ ions too! #sciencetechnician

Iron thiocyanate formation in a droplet. #MicroscaleChemistry is so cool!

Bob Worley@bobthechemist.bsky.social · last yr.

Watch for the effect of a magnet on the iron/thiocyanate complex. Paramagnetism at work. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qipp... #ITeachchem #RealTimeChem #chatchemistry @sfed-rsc.bsky.social

Today is #NationalCabbageDay, which is always a good opportunity to remind everyone that red cabbage can be used to make a colourful pH indicator solution! www.compoundchem.com/2017/05/18/r... #ChemSky 🧪

Roses are red, violets are blue….pink, turquoise, green and yellow! RGB pH evaluation of a violet

An RGB reaction plot showing ligand exchange for aqueous Cu²⁺ with sequential additions of ammonia, sodium salicylate, EDTA and catechol 💙

A Christmas tradition and the 3rd #GardenIndicators Christmas edition - Red Cabbage! Such a wonderful range of colours at different pH. Merry Christmas everyone 🎄

CrocodileChemist@crocodilechemi1.bsky.social · 2y ago

The second #GardenIndicators Christmas edition shows the pH profile of poinsettia bracts. Just look at the cheeky pink and purple in the RGB plot!

The second #GardenIndicators Christmas edition shows the pH profile of poinsettia bracts. Just look at the cheeky pink and purple in the RGB plot!

CrocodileChemist@crocodilechemi1.bsky.social · 2y ago

#GardenIndicators Christmas edition! I bought the cranberries purely for the science and now I’ve got to make cranberry sauce from scratch! Here’s their pH profile and the RGB plot of the acidified extract neutralised with 0.1M NaOH, then adding 2M NaOH

#GardenIndicators Christmas edition! I bought the cranberries purely for the science and now I’ve got to make cranberry sauce from scratch! Here’s their pH profile and the RGB plot of the acidified extract neutralised with 0.1M NaOH, then adding 2M NaOH

The Science Techs decorated the science department and we won the school Xmas decorations competition. Great team effort. Nice to show off what we do! Snowflakes, chemistrees, stick insects, and physics interactive light generators!

We’ve made a lot of phenolphthaleins this year, so here is a multiple phenolphthalein #Chemistree #OChemistree that uses many of the compounds we made. Also featuring an illuminated fluorescein bauble at the top. All planned and made by our lab office team! (not on this platform yet).

I tried a different type of #Gardenindicators experiment earlier this year. I started making bramble whisky in the late summer, this is the finished version after 3 months. Nice colour, quite a sweet taste, a bit like sloe gin. #Chemsky

At this time of year the number of available #Gardenindicators is more limited. However, we’ve been making some classic pH indicators too. Interesting range of colours in the methyl phenolphthalein series #Chemsky youtu.be/lcHvVRApqaQ?...

Colourful Phenolphthalein pH Indicator Selection

YouTube video by Gardenindicators

youtu.be

Day 2 of #ChemAdvent24 looks at how a colour-changing indicator can be made from festive poinsettia leaves. This is possible because they contain anthocyanins, which undergo structural changes in acidic and alkaline solutions. #GardenIndicators #ChemSky 🧪

Flower extracts store really nicely in the freezer, this one is from May. It shows the pH profile of a deep purple Aquilegia from pH1 to 13 #GardenIndicators

Here’s a 3,5-dinitrophenol snowflake designed by our Head of Chemistry! ❄️

CrocodileChemist@crocodilechemi1.bsky.social · 2y ago

Doing a bit of prep today for our Christmas decorations with some laboratory snowflakes based on Volumetric flasks, Bunsen burners, Pear-shaped flasks and Separating funnels!

Beautiful #GardenIndicators evaluation of an oxalis! Look at those colours! Wow!

Iain Smellie@iainsmellie.bsky.social · 2y ago

Thank you very much to @AlchemistAngus (on another platform currently) for this stunning #Gardenindicators specimen. We now have a lab oxalis to join our poinsettia! A video will appear on YouTube soon. #Chemsky

Here’s the pH evaluation of a red sweet pea from my garden. A cheeky blue around pH 8-10 is always a bonus! #GardenIndicators

Happy #FluorescenceFriday 😁 Following @compoundchem.com great post last week, here is another easy one. Extraction of highly fluorescent aesculin from the bark of horse chestnut twigs. Aesculin fluoresces a beautiful blue under UV illumination. #RealTimeChem SCHOOL #TECHNICIANSMAKEITHAPPEN

Can’t wait to see if there are some crystals

Iain Smellie@iainsmellie.bsky.social · 2y ago

A few weeks ago, I put about 100 dried red geraniums in a Soxhlet extractor. After an hour or so, hot methanol gave a very rich red anthocyanin-containing extract. Hopefully, some pelargonidin will be isolated from this soon #Gardenindicators #chemsky

Doing a bit of prep today for our Christmas decorations with some laboratory snowflakes based on Volumetric flasks, Bunsen burners, Pear-shaped flasks and Separating funnels!

#IteachChem 🥽 Chemistry and art: Students are investigating the effect of pH on dye color. I’m obsessed with the bright orange from annatto seeds!

Post a picture you took (no description) to bring some zen to the timeline

Dr Zoë Ayres@zjayres.bsky.social · 2y ago

Post a picture you took (no description) to bring some zen to the timeline

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin essential for human health. Humans can’t produce it naturally, so it’s vital in the diet. It helps form blood vessels, cartilage, muscles, and collagen. Dissolved in water and ethanol, it forms stunning crystals under polarized light.

The #GardenIndicators project started during the first lockdown as an accessible project from home. Anthocyanins are generally pretty easy to extract… but there are a few tricky ones!

Iain Smellie@iainsmellie.bsky.social · 2y ago

Thank you very much @crocodilechemi1.bsky.social for the purple runner beans you sent, they gave very nice #Gardenindicators colours! The low pH pink is beautiful. This is the first video I have made that shows the extraction of the plant material. youtu.be/o7GpWCL6guk?...

Here’s the pH evaluation of a pink & white geranium from pH 1 to 13. The bottom image shows an RGB reaction plot, using actual RGB values to produce an image of the dynamic neutralisation reaction. Lovely purple with Al³⁺ ions too💜#GardenIndicators