Senior ScientistCalifornia Institute of Technology
Professor of Physical ChemistryUniversity of Buenos Aires
Professor of Physical ChemistryUniversity of Mar del Plata
Senior Research AssociateJet Propulsion Laboratory
Principal InvestigatorNational Research Council of Argentina
Visiting ProfessorUniversity of Oregon
Postdoctoral ScholarUniversity of Southern California, Stanford Research Institute (SRI International), National Research Council of Canada
PhD, Physical ChemistryUniversity of Buenos Aires
MS, ChemistryUniversity of Buenos Aires
Physical Chemistry of the Air-Water Interface - Environmental Implications
We investigate the physical chemistry of the air-water interface via online electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.
In a typical experiment solutions injected as liquid jets into the spraying chamber of the mass spectrometer are exposed to reactive gases.
The products generated during the short exposure times (less than one millisecond) are detected online. This approach unambigously provides molecular mass-to-charge (within 0.1 Thomson) at low resolution, and exact molecular formula at high resolution. The great advantage of mass spectrometry over optical detection techniques is that mass is a universal property. Most species are either ionic or convert to negative or positive ions.
Our studies took a cue from one of John Fenn's papers, where he suggested that the electrosprayed ions detected by the mass spectrometer largely originate from the outermost liquid layers of the injected solutions.
During the last decade, we obtained novel results on long-range ion-ion interactions in sub-micromolar electrolyte solutions and the acid-base properties of the air-water interface.
We positively identified for the first time the long-postulated oxo-iron(IV) species in Fenton chemistry.
We detected the products, and in some cases the radical intermediates, of key gas-liquid reactions in atmospheric chemistry, such the ozonation of biogenic terpenes and the antioxidants protecting the lung epithelium.
We established the catalytic role of iodide in the release of halogens, and the ozonolysis of the terpenes released by phytoplankton in marine aerosols.
And the list of new findings continues. We did not want to play variations of a single tune. Just take a look at the titles of our publications.
We investigate the physical chemistry of the air-water interface via online electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.
In a typical experiment solutions injected as liquid jets into the spraying chamber of the mass spectrometer are exposed to reactive gases.
The products generated during the short exposure times (less than one millisecond) are detected online. This approach unambigously provides molecular mass-to-charge (within 0.1 Thomson) at low resolution, and exact molecular formula at high resolution. The great advantage of mass spectrometry over optical detection techniques is that mass is a universal property. Most species are either ionic or convert to negative or positive ions.
Our studies took a cue from one of John Fenn's papers, where he suggested that the electrosprayed ions detected by the mass spectrometer largely originate from the outermost liquid layers of the injected solutions.
During the last decade, we obtained novel results on long-range ion-ion interactions in sub-micromolar electrolyte solutions and the acid-base properties of the air-water interface.
We positively identified for the first time the long-postulated oxo-iron(IV) species in Fenton chemistry.
We detected the products, and in some cases the radical intermediates, of key gas-liquid reactions in atmospheric chemistry, such the ozonation of biogenic terpenes and the antioxidants protecting the lung epithelium.
We established the catalytic role of iodide in the release of halogens, and the ozonolysis of the terpenes released by phytoplankton in marine aerosols.
And the list of new findings continues. We did not want to play variations of a single tune. Just take a look at the titles of our publications.