Anique-Marie Cabardos '07 (Cobourg, Ontario) spent her summer in the lab of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Camille Jones, studying the effects of sodium halides on structure II clathrate hydrates.
Clathrate hydrates are a type of solid in which gas molecules occupy "cages" made of hydrogen-bonded water molecules. Using solutions of sodium fluoride, sodium chloride, sodium bromide, and sodium hydroxide, Cabardos studied the effects of the four different salts on clathrate hydrates. She was trying to see whether or not these salts acted on the clathrate hydrates as inhibitors, raising or lowering their melting point.
By the end of her research period, Cabardos saw strong evidence that sodium fluoride would in certain conditions raise the melting point of the clathrate by as much as a couple of degrees. Sodium chloride and sodium bromide offered similar results, though to a lesser extent. Although she says further research is needed, Cabardos was satisfied with her results.
The interesting point of this research, Cabardos explained, was that the additives (the salts) are sometimes incorporated into the water cage and change the structure of the clathrate. This change can, when analyzed, help scientists understand the formation of clathrate hydrates themselves.
Cabardos's research feeds into a larger project pursued in Jones's lab, one which has as a goal a method of storing hydrogen in water and use it as a fuel. Officially titled "The Molecular Design Basis for Hydrogen Storage in Clathrate Hydrates," this project is funded by a grant from the Department of Energy and researched by Hamilton, Tulane University and Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Cabardos enjoyed her first summer of research. She has previously studied abroad in Salamanca and Cork, and took a break this summer to chaperone a YMCA exchange to Nicaragua. On the Hill, she is involved in HAVOC and many volunteer projects, as well as the Scottish country dance group and Hogwarts at Hamilton. A double chemistry and foreign languages major, she plans to go to graduate school for mechanical engineering, chemistry or linguistics.
-- Lisbeth Redfield
