UMass Boston

Physical Chemistry: Surface Science

PhD, Chemical Physics, University of Texas at Austin

• Collins, John, Gerald Gourdin, Michelle Foster, and Deyang Qu. "Carbon surface functionalities and SEI formation during Li intercalation." Carbon 92 (2015): 193-244. (DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2015.04.007)
• Collins, John, Dong Zheng, Tue Ngo, Deyang Qu, and Michelle Foster. "Partial graphitization of activated carbon by surface acidification." Carbon 79 (2014): 500-517. (DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2014.08.009)
• Gourdin, Gerald, John Collins, Dong Zheng, Michelle Foster, and Deyang Qu. "Spectroscopic compositional analysis of electrolyte during initial SEI layer formation." The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 118, no. 31 (2014): 17383-17394. (DOI: 10.1021/jp50418b)
• Bag, Seema, Sanjukta Ghosh, Rekha Tulsan, Abha Sood, Weihong Zhou, Christine Schifone, Michelle Foster, Harry LeVine, Béla Török, and Marianna Török. "Design, synthesis and biological activity of multifunctional α, β-unsaturated carbonyl scaffolds for Alzheimer’s disease." Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters 23, no. 9 (2013): 2614-2618. (DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2013.02.103)

Lab Location: ISC-3620

The Foster group does surface chemistry and experimental physical chemistry. We use optical spectroscopies, such as diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and scanning probe microscopies, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), and combination techniques, such as a Raman microscope spectrometer, to study chemical reactions and processes happening at complex interfaces. The group has four areas of focus.

1. Green chemistry, including: (a) adsorption studies on metal oxide nanoparticles to help explain heterogeneous catalytic processes, and (b) mechanistic studies on solid acid catalysts
2. Materials science, including: (a) nanomechanical properties of novel core-shell nano/micro-spherical particles, and (b) physical properties of novel liquid-metal systems
3. Alternative energy processes, including: (a) adsorption processes in dye-sensitized solar cells, and (b) modification and optimization of activated carbon 
4. Biological chemistry, including: (a) investigation of the morphology of amyloid fibrils, and (b) visualization of other biological macromolecules