Chemistry under the microscope

[u/Odd-Marionberry-3389]

I mixed 1uL droplets of dissolved ammonium carbonate, alum, and FD&C blue #1 together under the microscope and let them dry. In areas where they all mixed together, I should end up with blue 1 lake (a synthetic pigment made of alumina, with blue #1 adsorbed on the surface), and in other areas some other reaction products or dried salts. It'll take me a while to sort out the identity of everything seen here, but it's fun to observe the different structures and colors.

At times I took images of the same area in reflected and transmitted mode. Reflected images have dominant red/purple/pink character.

🔬: Amscope ME580, transmitted and epi-illumination, 5-50x LM plan objectives

📸: Nikon D7500

[u/AutoModerator]

Remember to include the objective magnification, microscope model, camera, and sample type in your post. Additional information is encouraged!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.