Organic Chemistry Students Synthesize Polymers

Dr. Hills’ Organic Chemistry class synthesized sodium alginate polymers. Sodium alginate is a natural polymer that can be extracted from seaweed and acts as a thickening agent in the food production industry due to its ability to absorb water. When students added the alginate to a calcium chloride solution the reaction formed a worm-like precipitate (shown in the photo). Alex Judelson, Max Kainamura, Taeeon Kong, and Christian Odenius attempted to create the longest worm-like polymer possible.