AGUSTIN J. COLUSSI


RESEARCH FACULTY

California Institute of Technology


Linde Center For Global Environmental Science


(626)395-6350





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.

Stability of Monoterpene-Derived alpha-Hydroxyalkyl-Hydroperoxides in Aqueous Organic Media – Relevance to the Fate of Hydroperoxides in Aerosol Particle Phases

Junting Qiu, Zhancong Liang, Kenichi Tonokura, Agustín J. Colussi and Shinichi Enami

Environmental Science & Technology (2020) doi: 10.1021/acs.est.9b07497

Influence of Water Content in the Ozonolysis of Oleic Acid on Aqueous Organic Drops

Lijie Li, Michael R. Hoffmann and Agustín J. Colussi

to be submitted (2019)

Water Dramatically Accelerates the Decomposition of alpha-Hydroxyalkyl-Hydroperoxides in Aerosol Particles

Junting Qiu, Shinnosuke Ishizuka, Kenichi Tonokura, Agustín J. Colussi and Shinichi Enami

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 10 (2019) 5748-5755

Vacuum-assisted headspace single-drop microextraction: eliminating interfacial gas-phase limitations

Elefteria Psillakis, Niki Koutela and Agustín J. Colussi

Analytica Chimica Acta (2019) 10.1016/j.aca.2019.09.056

Comment on “The chemical reactions in electrosprays of water do not always correspond to those at the pristine air–water interface”

Agustin J. Colussi and Shinichi Enami

Chemical Science, 10 (2019) 8253-8255

Iodide accelerates the processing of biogenic monoterpene emissions on marine aerosols

Shinichi Enami, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

ACS Omega, 4 (2019) 7574-7580.

Detecting intermediates and products of fast heterogeneous reactions on liquid surfaces via online mass spectrometry

A. J. Colussi and Shinichi Enami

Atmosphere, 10 (2019) 47

Chemical signatures of surface microheterogeneity on liquid mixtures

Shinichi Enami, Shinnosuke Ishizuka and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Chemical Physics 150 (2019) 024702

OH-radical Oxidation of Lung Surfactant Protein B on Aqueous Surfaces

Shinichi Enami and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Mass Spectrometry Society of Japan 7(2)(2018) S0077

Reactivity of Monoterpene Criegee Intermediates at Gas-Liquid Interfaces

Junting Qiu, Shinnosuke Ishizuka, Kenichi Tonokura, Agustín J. Colussi, Shinichi Enami

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 122(39)(2018) 7910-7917

Can the pH at the air/water interface be different from the pH of bulk water?

A. J. Colussi

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 115(34) (2018) E7887

Enhanced Acidity of Acetic and Pyruvic Acids on the Surface of Water

Alexis Eugene, Elizabeth Pillar, Agustin J. Colussi and Marcelo Guzman

Langmuir 34 (2018) 9307-9313

Photochemical Synthesis of Naked Palladium Nanoparticles

Petri Ajo, Johanna Puranen, Harri Nieminen, Erik Vartiainen and A. J. Colussi

NANO 13(2) (2018) 1850023

The Role of Nitrogen Dioxide in the Production of Sulfate during Chinese Haze-Aerosol Episodes

Lijie Lie, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Environmental Science & Technology 52 (2018) 2686 - 2693

Criegee Intermediates React with Levoglucosan on Water

Shinichi Enami and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 8 (2017) 3888-3894

Reactions of Criegee Intermediates with Alcohols at Air-Aqueous Interfaces

Shinichi Enami and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry A (2017) 5175-5182

Efficient scavenging of Criegee Intermediates on water by surface-active cis-pinonic acid

Shinichi Enami and A. J. Colussi

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19 (2017) 17044-17051

Criegee Chemistry on Aqueous Organic Surfaces

Shinichi Enami and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 8 (2017) 1615-1623

Low intensity, continuous wave photodoping of ZnO quantum dots. Photon energy and particle size effects

Matías E. Aguirre, S. Municoy, M. A. Grela and A. J. Colussi

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19 (2017) 4494-4499

Halogen Radical Chemistry at Aqueous Interfaces

Shinichi Enami, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry A,120 (2016) 6242–6248

Extensive H-abstraction in the reaction of benzoate with OH-radicals at the air-water interface

Shinichi Enami, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2016)

Lithium batteries: Improving solid-electrolyte interphases via underpotential solvent electropolymerization

Laleh Majari Kasmaee, Asghar Aryanfar, Zarui Chikneyan, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Chemical Physics Letters 661 (2016) 65-69

‘Sizing’ heterogeneous chemistry in the conversion of gaseous dimethyl sulfide to atmospheric particles

Shinichi Enami,Yosuke Sakamoto, Keiichiro Hara,Kazuo Osada, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Environmental Science & Technology 50 (2016) 1834–1843

OH-radical specific addition to glutathione S-atom at the air-water interface – Relevance to the redox balance of the lung epithelial lining fluid

Shinichi Enami, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 6 (2015) 3935-3943

Annealing Kinetics of Electrodeposited Lithium Dendrites

Asghar Aryanfar, Tao Cheng, Boris V. Merinov, William A. Goddard III, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Chemical Physics 143 (2015) 131101

Homogeneous CO2 Reduction by Photogenerated Pyridinyl Radicals

Francesca Riboni, Elena Selli, M. R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry A 119 (2015) 4433-4438

Artificial Photosynthesis of C1-C3 Hydrocarbons from Water and CO2 on Titanate Nanotubes Decorated with Nanoparticle Elemental Copper and CdS Quantum Dots

Hyunwoong Park, A. J. Colussi, Hsin-Hung Ou and Michael R. Hoffmann

Journal of Physical Chemistry A 119 (2015) 4658-4666

Thermal Relaxation of Lithium Dendrites

Asghar Aryanfar, Daniel Brooks, Boris V. Merinov, William A. Goddard III, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 17 (2015) 8000-8005

Stepwise Oxidation of Aqueous Dicarboxylic Acids by Gas-Phase OH-Radicals

S. Enami, M. R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 6 (2015) 527-534

Quantifying the Dependence of Dead Lithium Losses on the Cycling Period in Lithium Metal Batteries

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16 (45), 24965 - 24970

Fenton Oxidation of Gaseous Isoprene on Aqueous Surfaces

F. Rifkha Kameel, Francesca Riboni, S. Enami, M. R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry C (invited), 118 (2014) 29151–29158

In Situ Mass Spectrometric Detection of Interfacial Intermediates in the Oxidation of RCOOH(aq) by Gas-Phase OH-Radicals

Shinichi Enami, M. R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 118 (2014) 4130 - 4137

Dynamics of Lithium Dendrite Growth and Inhibition - Pulse Charging Experiments and Monte Carlo Calculations

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 5 (2014) 1721-1726

Polarity and Oxidation Level of Visible Absorbers in Organic Aerosols

Rifkha F. Kameel, S. H. Lee, M. R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Chemical Physics Letters 603(2014) 57-61

Comment on ˜Surface Acidity of Water Probed by Free Energy Calculation for Trimethylamine Protonation' by Yusuke Tabe, Nobuaki Kikkawa, Hideaki Takahashi, and Akihiro Morita

A. J. Colussi and Shinichi Enami

Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 118 (2014) 2844

Ion-Specific Long-Range Correlations on Interfacial Water Driven by Hydrogen Bond Fluctuations

Shinichi Enami and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 118 (2014) 1861-1866

Fenton Chemistry at Aqueous Interfaces

Shinichi Enami, Yosuke Sakamoto and A. J. Colussi

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 111 (2014) 623-628

Protonation of Hydrophobes at the Air-Water Interface- Relevance to Catalysis 'on Water'

Himanshu Mishra, Shinichi Enami, Michael R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

submitted (2013)

OH Radical-Initiated Chemistry of Isoprene in Aqueous Media - Atmospheric Implications

Rifkha F. Kameel, M. R. Hoffmann and A. J. Colussi

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 117 (2013) 5117-5123

Long-Range Hofmeister Effects of Anionic and Cationic Amphiphiles

with Shinichi Enami

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 117 (2013) 6276-6281

Long-Range Specific Ion-Ion Interactions in Hydrogen-Bonded Liquid Films

with Shinichi Enami

Journal of Chemical Physics 138 (2013) 184706

Tropospheric Aerosol as a Reactive Intermediate

with Akihiro Yabushita, Shinichi Enami, Wei-Guang Liu, Himanshu Mishra, Michael R. Hoffmann, and William A. Goddard II

Faraday Discussions, 116 (2013) DOI: 10.1039/c3fd00040k

Dry Deposition of Biogenic Terpenes via Cationic Oligomerization on Environmental Aqueous Surfaces

with Shinichi Enami and Michael R. Hoffmann

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 3 (2012) 3102-3108

Brønsted Basicity of the Air-Water Interface

with Himanshu Mishra, Shinichi Enami, Robert J. Nielsen, Logan A. Stewart, Michael R. Hoffmann, and William A. Goddard III

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 109 (2012) 18679-18683

Anions Dramatically Enhance Proton Transfer through Water Interfaces

with Himanshu Mishra, Shinichi Enami, Robert J. Nielsen, Michael R. Hoffmann, and William A. Goddard III

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 109 (2012) 10228-10232

Long-Range Hofmeister Effects of Anionic and Cationic Amphiphiles

with Shinichi Enami

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 117 (2013) 6276-6281

Quantum Chemical insights into the Dissociation of Nitric Acid on the Surface of Aqueous Electrolytes

with H. Mishra, R. J. Nielsen, S. Enami, M. R. Hoffmann, W. A. Goddard III

International Journal of Theoretical Chemistry, (2012) DOI: 10.1002/qua.24151

Hofmeister Effects in Micromolar Electrolyte Solutions

with Shinichi Enami, Himanshu Mishra, Michael R. Hoffmann

Journal of Chemical Physics 136 (2012) DOI: 10.1063/1.4704752

Protonation and Oligomerization of Gaseous Isoprene on Mildly Acidic Surfaces. Implications for Atmospheric Chemistry

with Shinichi Enami, Himanshu Mishra, Michael R. Hoffmann

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 116 (2012) 6027-6032

Complete list of publications Recent publications online