Başak Nur Koçak, our former undergraduate student, recently joined the Dağ Group as a Master’s student for the Fall 2026–2027 semester!

For her senior project, she worked on the synthesis and characterization of Ni(II):PPA:P123 sol-gel mesophases. She utilized a micelle-templated system to obtain lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) phases. As an independent variable, she altered the amount of NH₄OH-EtOH to create different pH environments, allowing her to observe the effect on the sol-gel transition. She then characterized these materials using ATR-FTIR, XRD, and UV-vis spectroscopy.

For her Master’s studies, she will continue working on the same sol-gel system using various alcohol-based solvents to observe the mesophase properties both with and without a surfactant.