Finding the answer meant conducting experiments, but instead of working at their lab benches in the Thorvaldson Building, the chemistry professor and his students convened at the Canadian Light Source where Urquhart has been developing lab activities for both graduates and undergraduates that use the synchrotron.

“The foil has some sort of coating on it that makes it non-stick,” he explained. “The beamline we’re using at the CLS is perfect for analyzing the chemical composition of the foil’s surface and figuring out what the non-stick ingredient is – silicone, Teflon or something else? We want to offer students something that will pique their interest.”

The students researched the ingredients of non-stick coatings, he said, and came up with a list of possible suspects that could be scanned for using the beamline. They then spent time learning the basics of beamline operation, and running samples of non-stick and plain aluminum foil. Once they had their data, it was back to the books to interpret the results.

So what does make non-stick aluminum foil non-stick? It turns out that the foil is indeed coated with a thin layer of a silicone-containing polymer. As for using the synchrotron in teaching, Urquhart definitely envisions other classes using the CLS in the future.

“Maybe next time we’ll cut up a fry pan in the rough shop and have a look at that.”