TSP's Journey through PhD Chemistry as a Bulldog

(There is a quick question for you at the end.) Having read a number of articles with titles in the reference list at the end of this blogpost, I present a synopsis of what I aim to explore in the long run. The whole journey has to do with:                                Biochar in Environmental and Energy Applications From the inception of industrial revolution, global warming has been a major environmental concern as the earth continues to have an upward shift in its annual average temperature 1,2 . In the twenty-first century, Biochar continues to play a pivotal role in the advancement of all human societies transcending applicability in soil amendment and carbon capturing, 3 to water treatment and energy innovations. 4 TSP: What did you call it again, Biosh-what? Delving deeper into the stated areas, overwhelming majority of scientists have begun to associate their research with sustai...

Free Ticket for You Briefly. Before then, when something leaches, it dissolves out. Practically, this title should not be the ideal. Rather, before PAHs leach in, we reach out. Makes sense, right?  So, a paper that caught my attention this week is titled " Enhanced Immobilization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Contaminated Soil Using Forest Wood-Derived Biochar and Activated Carbon under Saturated Conditions, and the Importance of Biochar Particle Size", and I am beginning to get some insight into how I can expand my research into related areas. One thing you may be aware about polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is that, being a group of organic contaminants, it is highly hydrophobic, carcinogenic, and non-biodegradable. Recall that when something is non-biodegradable, it can accumulate in the environment for a long period of time (for example, thousands of years). TSP: Ama reach out before you leach in PAHs exist in the environment naturally by volcanoes, or ant...

TSP: This is for Ms Conduct alone!   Introduction From time immemorial, misconduct has been a major component of all human societies, evident in the resulting backwardness that exists and metastasizes across the world. The act of shortcutting, to go through the right process in a bid to reduce stress, yet receive relief, accolades, money, trust, and any sort of prestige has for many years been part of the research community, and only very few of the overwhelming majority have been caught red-handed and subsequently sanctioned (McCook, 2017). According to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (2021), research misconduct involves the “fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results” . It is a behavior that intentionally or unintentionally neglects scientific ethical standards ( Pitak-Arnnop et al., 2008). When caught, the researcher or scientist ultimately, amongst many a thing loses reputation, nasc...

Shit happens! That's the consolatory phrase we say to ourselves after making a mistake. It is also what they say to us, nudging us to move on, to leave the past behind, to focus, or to stay alive.  TSP: When it catches fire, fire on to catch it. Of course, shit happened to me in the lab this week. No, I didn't have an acid burn. And yes, it was during an experiment. Once I knew that the samples I had previously prepared might not be enough for instrumental analysis, I decided after suggestions from my mentor to make new and more samples. Like everyone else, I did not like to start again. But sometimes, we only have to keep gazing at the end in mind so we do not slowly and eventually throw in the trowel. After all, it is my PhD not theirs.  Many want the success but hate the process, and if this is processed how can they make progress? I had initially prepared two samples of biochar activated with (i) steam and potassium dihydrogen phosphate ( KH2PO4)  (ii) water, calcium ...

N.B: Important Gift for you at the end. So, slowly read and digest. Recently, I read a news article titled "Warmer Water, Less Nutrition" written by Sonia Fernandez. The summary of it is that t he nutritional value of giant kelp decreases with the rise in sea temperature. Being a scientist, I decided to learn more about the giant kelp and thought it would be nice to share some of the things I have learned. Remember that I do a course in Environmental Toxicology, and subjects as this are becoming more and more interesting. Giant Kelp : TSP, please I need a freezer here. It's so hot and I can't feed the world Well, you might think this is the first time you have been acquainted with the name "giant kelp", but if you are familiar with aquatic organisms, you might have been acquainted with organisms such as the algae.  Back in freshman biology class, I would get fascinated with botanical and zoological names of organisms and often looked forward to letting some...

This week I read an article titled " NIR II Light-Response Au Nanoframes: Amplification of a Pressure- and Temperature-Sensing Strategy for Portable Detection and Photothermal Therapy of Cancer Cells".  (A) Schematic Illustration of the Synthesis of Au NFs and (B) Schematic Diagram of the Construction of the Pressure-Based and Temperature-Based Detection Platforms In the paper, the authors were trying to make portable device with increased sensitivity and detectability for cancerous cells, as this would foster early diagnosis and swift prognosis (Perfézou et al., 2012, Chinen et al., 2015). Although previous methods have been used of late including those associated with electrochemical (Cao et al., 2019), fluorescent (Li et al., 2018), microfluidic (Tavakoli et al., 2019), and colorimetric (Hong et al., 2016) measurements. The limitations according to the authors include but are not limited to high cost and difficulty in operation. The authors synthesized folic acid-conjugate...