CrocodileChemist
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crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
CrocodileChemist
@crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
390 followers 86 following 28 posts
Back working in school science technician-ing. RSciTech. Background in coatings R&D. Loves Chemistry and makes pictures out of chemical droplets or from videos of chemical reactions (RGB plots). Custodian of the #GardenIndicators spreadsheet!
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crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
Blackberries! Loads of them! Going back tomorrow for more. Will make a crumble and jam. Have a plan for some colorimetry too😀#GardenIndicators
August 30, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
compoundchem.com
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 🧪
Infographic on the chemistry oof air on a plane. Airliners pressurize onboard air to make flights more comfortable. In the cabin, the air pressure is 75.1 kPa, compared with 101 kPa at sea level. Cabin air is a mix of fresh and filtered air and is renewed up to 30 times an hour. Filters remove bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Airplanes cruise in the lower stratosphere, where the ozone concentration is slightly higher than at ground level. This increases cabin ozone levels, which can cause headaches and breathing problems. Many planes use devices to convert ozone in air into oxygen before it enters the cabin. A chemical system produces the oxygen provided by masks that drop from an airplane’s ceiling in an emergency. Pulling the mask down releases a firing pin from the oxygen generator cylinder. This release ignites a mixture of an oxidizer and iron powder. The heat from burning iron decomposes the oxidizer, a process that produces oxygen. The generator produces oxygen for 15–20 min.
March 22, 2025 at 1:20 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
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!
Showing blue fluorescence with a horse chest branch in water. Slight red with pumpkin seeds, blue with sesame and fennel seeds under uv light
March 16, 2025 at 5:20 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
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
Testing the pH colour changes of a viola petal. Pink in acid, purple/ blue at neutral pH, then a gorgeous teal at around pH 8 and into the yellows above pH 12
March 15, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
manhattanscientist.bsky.social
It’s #RSCPoster day and #gardenindicators day in the lab:

Is it spring yet?
March 4, 2025 at 3:39 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
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
A collection of 3 pictures showing a deep pink flower and its pH evaluation in a blister pack for pH 1, 3, 7, 8, 10 and 14. Then there’s a continuous profile using RGB values to generate a plot for its neutralisation reaction from pH1 to 14
March 2, 2025 at 2:07 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
Iron thiocyanate formation in a droplet. #MicroscaleChemistry is so cool!
March 2, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
compoundchem.com
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 🧪
Infographic on making a pH indicator from red cabbage. The indicator can be made by roughly chopping cabbage, boiling, straining, and collecting the liquid. The extract contains anthocyanin pigments which give different colours in solutions of different pH, ranging from red, through purple, to green and yellow.
February 17, 2025 at 9:38 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
Roses are red, violets are blue….pink, turquoise, green and yellow!

RGB pH evaluation of a violet
February 15, 2025 at 8:23 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
An RGB reaction plot showing ligand exchange for aqueous Cu²⁺ with sequential additions of ammonia, sodium salicylate, EDTA and catechol 💙
February 5, 2025 at 11:33 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
A Christmas tradition and the 3rd #GardenIndicators Christmas edition - Red Cabbage! Such a wonderful range of colours at different pH. Merry Christmas everyone 🎄
December 25, 2024 at 7:40 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
The second #GardenIndicators Christmas edition shows the pH profile of poinsettia bracts. Just look at the cheeky pink and purple in the RGB plot!
A collage of photographs showing the pH colours of poinsettia bracts. These range from pinks in acid, to browny tones in alkali and yellow at pH 13. There is an image of a plot showing the colours seen during the continuous neutralisation reaction by adding alkali to the acidified extract. It shows flashes of pinks and purples too.
December 24, 2024 at 4:48 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
#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
A collage of three photos showing some cranberries. The reaction of the extract at different pH ranging from reds, pinks, purple and yellow. Then a continuous pH profile from pH 1-14 showing how the colours change with the neutralisation reaction of acidified extract
December 22, 2024 at 11:49 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
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!
December 18, 2024 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
iainsmellie.bsky.social
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).
A list of all the phenolphthaleins will be added later.
December 18, 2024 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
iainsmellie.bsky.social
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
Bramble whisky. I made this by soaking brambles (blackberries) in a bottle of whisky and added some sugar. I then let the mixture soak for just over 3 months.
December 15, 2024 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
iainsmellie.bsky.social
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
December 8, 2024 at 7:38 AM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
compoundchem.com
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 🧪
Infographic showing the different structures of the anthocyanin compounds in poinsettia plants at different pH values.
December 2, 2024 at 11:29 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
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
Showing a picture of a deep purple aquilegia flower. Then the extract is evaluated at different pHs with reds, blues and yellows. Then a continuous pattern from pink to blues and green as the acidified extract is neutralised with alkali
December 1, 2024 at 8:47 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
Here’s a 3,5-dinitrophenol snowflake designed by our Head of Chemistry! ❄️
November 27, 2024 at 7:43 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
Beautiful #GardenIndicators evaluation of an oxalis! Look at those colours! Wow!
iainsmellie.bsky.social Iain Smellie @iainsmellie.bsky.social · Nov 26
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
Left to Right, oxalis extract mixed with: dilute HCl (pink) ammonium acetate (violet), sodium bicarbonate (blue) and dilute NaOH (yellow).
November 26, 2024 at 8:30 PM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
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
November 24, 2024 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by CrocodileChemist
andrestrujado.bsky.social
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
November 22, 2024 at 11:10 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
Can’t wait to see if there are some crystals
iainsmellie.bsky.social Iain Smellie @iainsmellie.bsky.social · Nov 21
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
Dried red geranium flowers. Packed Soxhlet extractor before hot methanol started to flush through. The geraniums after about 60 minutes of soaking in hot methanol, a lot of the red colour had gone by this time. The rich red residue after the methanol extract was concentrated using a rotary evaporator. This has now been cooled in a fridge to see if any crystals appear!
November 22, 2024 at 6:22 AM
crocodilechemi1.bsky.social
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!
Paper snowflakes based on laboratory equipment - volumetric flasks, Bunsen burners, pear-shaped flasks and separating funnels
November 21, 2024 at 7:38 PM