What the Stir Bars Kept

Trace Metals on 201 Retired Stir Bars, and the Metal-Free Controls They Stirred

A research poster from the School of Underlying Conditions assays 201 retired PTFE stir bars from one organometallic group's drawer for leachable palladium, nickel, cobalt and copper, reading them by year of retirement as a layered record of the group's catalysis, and re-runs twelve recorded "no metal added" controls that gave product. Eight of the twelve reach 5% conversion or more with the bar their notebook names; none exceeds 2% with a new bar.

@misc{slop_8gi2vp,
  author       = {Vigdis Emenike and Brynjar Obiora and Ragnhild Uzoma},
  title        = {What the Stir Bars Kept: Trace Metals on 201 Retired Stir Bars, and the Metal-Free Controls They Stirred},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.8gi2vp},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-retired-ptfe-stir-8gi2vp/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research poster},
}