Daily Life Exploring Advancements in Materials Science Research
In the bustling MAE department at Princeton University, junior Bridget Denzer is conducting her independent work in the Arnold lab group, a unique space that straddles both mechanical engineering and materials science. The focus of her research is the creation of graphene aerogels from protein precursors, a process that holds great promise for energy storage applications due to the materials' high porosity and conductivity.
Last Monday, during the 10:00 AM lab meeting on February 21st, Bridget Denzer presented her preliminary findings. To her surprise, her results seemed to be disproving her initial hypothesis. However, she remains excited about the data as it suggests there is more going on in the pyrolysis process than she originally thought.
The project's steps include preparing a protein-graphene oxide (GO) or reduced graphene oxide (rGO) mixture, gelation via chemical or physical crosslinking, chemical reduction (if starting from GO), sol-gel process and hydrogel formation, drying (freeze-drying or supercritical drying), characterization and functionalization, and application-specific testing.
On Tuesday, February 8th, four protein solutions were prepared by dissolving powdered proteins in water and letting them mix on a stirrer. The following Wednesday, February 16th, the SEM was reserved from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM to analyze eight samples, four of which had already been pyrolyzed and four had not. Despite an initial malfunction at the Imaging and Analysis Center (IAC) for the first half-hour, Bridget Denzer was able to finish analysis on all her samples.
After the analysis, Bridget Denzer did SEM imaging and Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) on the remaining samples at the IAC. She received suggestions from her research advisor about specific papers to look at and more analysis techniques to do for her samples.
Bridget Denzer is currently in the data-collection phase of her junior independent work and plans to do more analysis to investigate the area of research that her results have revealed. She hopes to start writing her paper after midterms are over and is looking forward to continuing her work in the lab, as she enjoys the hands-on nature of research. Bridget Denzer is also planning to continue working with her current lab group for her senior thesis work.
References:
- PMC article (2025) — crosslinking, vacuum, UV irradiation, and nanoparticle loading in protein-based graphene aerogels
- ACS Omega (2025) — chemical reduction using l-ascorbic acid to form conductive graphene hydrogels/aerogels
- ACS Nano Materials (2025) — sol-gel based aerogel formation
- Nature Communications (2025) — graphene oxide synthesis and functionalization methods relevant to aerogel preparation
- [Other references may be added as Bridget Denzer continues her research]
Bridget Denzer is exploring the creation of graphene aerogels from protein precursors for energy storage applications, a project that involves steps such as preparing protein-graphene oxide or reduced graphene oxide mixtures, gelation, chemical reduction, sol-gel process and hydrogel formation, drying, characterization and functionalization, and application-specific testing. On February 8th, she prepared four protein solutions and reserved the SEM for February 16th to analyze eight samples. Despite initially encountering equipment issues, she completed analysis on all her samples. Following the analysis, Bridget Denzer is currently in the data-collection phase of her independent work, planning to investigate further and write her junior paper after midterms. She anticipates continuing her work in the lab for her senior thesis, referencing articles like the PMC article (2025) on crosslinking methods, the ACS Omega (2025) on chemical reduction using l-ascorbic acid, ACS Nano Materials (2025) on sol-gel based aerogel formation, and Nature Communications (2025) on graphene oxide synthesis and functionalization methods.
