Photochemistry of Coffee
The Photochemistry of Coffee is a really broad umbrella project. The goal is to understand all of the chemistry of the components of coffee that are used in the development of black and white film. The origin of this interest is because photographers are using natural products to develop their film for the uniqueness of their impact on film development and that they are more sustainable in the long run.
This means that in the lab we are actively looking at the following:
- Efficiency of extraction: Lab vs. home
- Composition of extract: Concentrations and presence of isomers
- Time studies: Does the extract degrade over time or does it matter if you get pulled away from the extraction in the middle
In the future we would like to explore:
- Impact on film: can we reproduce the effect of coffee extract from the individual components that have been extracted
- Other natural products: Coffee isn't the only thing that can be use. Alternatives are tea, pine needles and many others.
The approaches/tools we use in lab are primarily Analytical, Physical, and Organic. Students use the following techniques and instrumentation
- HPLC - (Analytical) Calibration curves for concentrations
- LC-MS - (Analytical) Structure and concentrations
- Gaussian - (Physical) Computational work
- Extractions - (Organic) Understanding the organic properties of coffee and degradation pathways to achieve the best extraction.
The project is open to shifts in direction.
This is an opportunity to think about chemistry and apply the skills that you have developed over your years of chemistry.
Students in the lab have ownership of the direction that their work goes in while working on understanding the components of coffee that are used for developing black and white film. We have had people look into developing quality chromatography, calibration curves, computational studies, extractions, time studies, and isomerization. There are a lot of directions that the research can be taken.
Projects and degree of independence are also tied to your level of experience. When you join you are typically partnered with a more senior peer so you have someone to ask questions of and do lab work with or at the same time. All levels are welcome. Seniors are given priority in their final semester.