KURT W. KOLASINSKI

KURT W. KOLASINSKI

Courses taught:

  • CHE 341 Physical Chemistry I: 4 Credits.
  • CHE 342 Physical Chemistry II: 3 Credits.
  • CHE 410 Advanced Independent Study or Research: 2-6 Credits.
  • CHE 491 Seminar in Chemistry: 1 Credit
  • CRL 103 Experimental General Chemistry I (LAB): 1 Credit.
  • CRL 104 Experimental General Chemistry II (LAB): 1 Credit.
  • CRL 107 General Chemistry Lab for Allied Health Services: 1 Credit.
  • CRL 341 Experimental Physical Chemistry Lab: 2 Credits.
  • CRL 342 Experimental Physical Chemistry II Lab: 2 Credits.

Physical Chemistry Education Links

Research Interests: Physical Chemistry, Surface Science, Nanoscience
Research website

Kolasinski's Physical Chemistry YouTube Channel

Research Summary:

My research concentrates on the study of dynamical processes at the surfaces of metals and semiconductors. In particular, I study electrochemical and laser-assisted processes that form nanoscale and larger structures, including:

  • Electroless and metal-assisted etching of silicon to form porous silicon,
  • Anodization to form nanotubes and porous oxides,
  • Laser ablation of Si, Ti, Al, Zn and anything else we can stick in front of a laser.

We characterize these structures with electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and photoluminescence. Other techniques are provided by our collaborators in Connecticut, Finland and Mexico.

"If you do not communicate your ideas, you are not doing science. You are only engaging in a hobby" is the quote that introduces my physical chemistry textbook. Chemical education and dissemination of chemical information are priorities in my work. My dedication to effective teaching and the writing of texts that impart knowledge is derived from broad experience at the borders of physics and chemistry, surface science and nanomaterials. I am the author of over 100 scholarly publications as well as the textbooks Surface Science: Foundations of Catalysis and Nanoscience and Physical Chemistry: How Chemistry Works. 

Textbooks:

Selected Research Publications

  1. Density functional theory (DFT) study of water autoionization in solvated clusters, K. W. Kolasinski, A. M. Salkowski*, J. Chem. Phys. 2024, 161 114301.
  2. Silica particles convert thiol-containing molecules to disulfides, Y. Li, K. W. Kolasinski, R. N. Zare, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2023, 120, e2304735120.
  3. Characterization of Mechanochemical Modification of Porous Silicon with Arginine, J. A. DiPietro*, K. W. Kolasinski, Surfaces 2022, 5, 143-154.
  4. Direct Ink 3D Printing of Porous Carbon Monoliths for Gas Separations, M. L. Comroe, K. W. Kolasinski, D. Saha, Molecules 2022, 27, 5653.
  5. Metal-Assisted Catalytic Etching (MACE) for Nanofabrication of Semiconductor Powders, K. W. Kolasinski, Micromachines 2021, 12, 776.
  6. Fabrication of Electrospun Nanofiber composite of g-C3N4 and Au Nanoparticles as Plasmonic Photocatalyst, Dipendu Saha, Pasquale Gismondi, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Samantha L. Shumlas Sylvie Rangan, Babek Eslami, Amy McConnell, Tae Vaughan Bui, Kayla Cunfer, Surfs. Interfaces 26, 101367 (2021).
  7. Photochemical and Nonthermal Chemical Modification of Porous Silicon, K. W. Kolasinski, in Porous Silicon for Biomedical Applications (Ed.: H. Santos), Elsevier, 2021.
  8. Low-Load Metal-Assisted Catalytic Etching Produces Scalable Porosity in Si Powders, K. Tamarov, R. Kiviluoto*, J. D. Swanson*, B. A. Unger*, A. T. Ernst, M. Aindow, J. Riikonen, V.-P. Lehto, K. W. Kolasinski, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 48969-48981.
  9. Controlling the nature of etched Si nanostructures: High versus low load metal-assisted catalytic etching (MACE) of Si powders, K. Tamarov, J. D. Swanson*, B. A. Unger*, K. W. Kolasinski, A. T. Ernst, M. Aindow, V.-P. L. Lehto, J. Riikonen, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 4787-4796.
  10. Hierarchical Nanostructuring of Porous Silicon with Electrochemical and Regenerative Electroless Etching, E. Mäkilä, A.-M. Anton Willmore, H. Yu, M. Irri, M. Aindow, T. Teesalu, L. T. Canham, K. W. Kolasinski, J. Salonen, ACS Nano 13, 13056 (2019).
  11. Crystallographically Determined Etching and Its Relevance to the Metal Assisted Catalytic Etching (MACE) of Silicon Powders, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Bret A. Unger*, Alexis T. Ernst and Mark Aindow, Front. Chem. 6, 651 (2019).
  12. Crystallographically Defined Silicon Macropore Membranes, Shannon C. Knight*, Bret A. Unger* and Kurt W. Kolasinski, Open Mater. Sci. 4, 33-41 (2018).
  13. Silicon Surface Photochemistry, Kurt W. Kolasinski, in Wandelt, K. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry: Surface Science and Electrochemistry, Elsevier, pp 611–620 (2018).
  14. Plume and Nanoparticle Formation During Laser Ablation, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Mool C. Gupta and Leonid V. Zhigilei, in Wandelt, K. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry: Surface Science and Electrochemistry, Elsevier, pp 594–603 (2018).
  15. Regenerative Electroless Etching of Silicon, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Nathan S. Gimbar,* Haibo Yu, Mark Aindow, Ermei Mäkilä and Jarno Salonen, Angew. Chemie, Int. Ed. 56, 624-627 (2017).
  16. Controlled Electrochemical Etching of High-Aspect-Ratio Structures in Silicon at the Highest Etching Rates: The Role of H2O2 in the Anodic Dissolution of Silicon in Low HF Concentration Electrolytes, Chiara Cozzi, Giovanni Polito, Kurt W. Kolasinski and Giuseppe Barillaro, Adv. Funct. Mater. 27, 1604310 (2017).
  17. Subtractive methods to form pyrite and sulfide nanostructures of Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Current Op. Solid State Mater. Sci. 20, 371-373 (2016).
  18. Electron transfer during Metal Assisted and Stain Etching of Silicon, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 31, 014002 (2016).
  19. The stoichiometry of metal assisted etching of Si in V2O5 + HF and HOOH + HF solutions, Kurt W. Kolasinski, and William B. Barclay*, Yu Sun, and Mark Aindow, Electrochim. Acta 158, 219-228 (2015).
  20. Photochemical and Chemical Modification of Porous Silicon, Kurt W. Kolasinski, in Porous Silicon for Biomedical Applications, edited by Hélder Santos (Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2014) pp. 52-80.
  21. Bubbles: A review of their relationship to the formation of thin films and porous materials, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Mesoporous Biomater. 1, 49-60 (2014).
  22. Porous Silicon Formation by Stain Etching, Kurt W. Kolasinski, in Handbook of Porous Silicon, 2nd Edition, edited by Leigh T. Canham, (Springer Verlag, Berlin, 2014) pp. 35–48. Revised June 2016.
  23. Porous Silicon Formation by Galvanic Etching, in Handbook of Porous Silicon, Kurt W. Kolasinski, 2nd Edition, edited by Leigh T. Canham, (Springer Verlag, Berlin, 2014) pp. 23–33. Revised June 2016.
  24. The mechanism of Galvanic/Metal Assisted Etching of Silicon, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 9, 432 (2014).
  25. New Approaches to the Production of Porous Silicon by Stain Etching, Kurt W. Kolasinski, in Nanostructured Semiconductors: From Basic Research to Applications, edited by P. Granitzer and K. Rumpf (Pan Stanford Publishing, Singapore, 2014) pp. 45-84.
  26. The stoichiometry of Si electroless etching in V2O5 + HF solutions, Kurt W. Kolasinski and William B. Barclay*, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Eng., 52, 6731-6734 (2013).
  27. The Mechanism of Photo-Hydrosilylation on Silicon and Porous Silicon Surfaces, Kurt W. Kolasinski, J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 135, 11408-11412 (2013).
  28. A test of Marcus theory predictions for electroless etching of silicon, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Jacob W. Gogola* and William B. Barclay*, J. Phys. Chem C, 116, 21472–21481 (2012).
  29. Electroless Etching of Si with IO3– and related Species, Kurt W. Kolasinski and Jacob W. Gogola*, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 7, 323 (2012).
  30. Charge Transfer and Nanostructure Formation During Electroless Etching of Silicon, Kurt W. Kolasinski, J. Phys. Chem. C 114, 22098-22105 (2010).
  31. Dynamics of Porous Silicon Formation by Etching in HF + V2O5 Solutions, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Justin D. Hartline*, Bryan T. Kelly* and Julia Yadlovskiy*, Mol. Phys. 108, 1033-1043 (2010).
  32. Stain etching with Fe(III), V(V) and Ce(IV) to form microporous silicon, Margaret E. Dudley* and Kurt W. Kolasinski, Electrochem. Solid State Lett. 12, D22-D26 (2009).
  33. Development of endothelial cells on pillar-covered silicon, Jennifer P. Zawislak, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Brian P. Helmke, Phys. Status Solidi A 206, 1356-1360 (2009).
  34. Etching of Silicon in Fluoride Solutions, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Surf. Sci., 603, 1904-1911 (2009).
  35. Solid Structure Formation During the Liquid/Solid Phase Transition, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Curr. Op. Solid State & Mater. Sci., 11, 76-85 (2007).
  36. Growth and etching of semiconductors, Kurt W. Kolasinski, in Handbook of Surface Science: Dynamics, vol. 3 edited by Eckart Hasselbrink and Bengt Lundqvist, (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2008) pp. 787-870, ISBN 978-0-444-52056-2.
  37. Wet Etching of Pillar Covered Silicon Surface: Formation of Crystallographically Defined Macropores, Kurt W. Kolasinski and Margaret E. Dudley*, J. Electrochem. Soc. 155, H164-H171 (2008). 
  38. Formation of nano-textured conical microstructures in titanium metal surface by femtosecond laser irradiation, Barada Nayak, Mool C. Gupta and Kurt W. Kolasinski, Appl. Phys. A 90, 399-402 (2008). 
  39. Catalytic growth of nanowires: Vapor-liquid-solid, vapor-solid-solid, solution-liquid-solid and solid-liquid-solid growth, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Curr. Op. Solid State & Mater. Sci. 10, 182-191(2006).
  40. Spontaneous formation of nano-spiked microstructures in germanium by femtosecond laser irradiation, Barada K. Nayak, Mool C. Gupta and Kurt W. Kolasinski, Nanotechnology 18, 195302 (2007).
  41. Silicon nanostructures from electroless electrochemical etching, Kurt W. Kolasinski, Curr. Op. Solid State & Mater. Sci. 9, 73-83 (2005).

*Undergraduate authors

Selected Research Presentations

Invited Conference Presentations

Fundamentals of Porous Silicon Formation, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2024, Brno, Czechia, April 2024.

Injection Metal-Assisted Catalytic Etching (MACE) of Si Powder: The Discovery of Low-Load Mace and the Optimization of High-Load MACE, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2022, Lido Di Camaiore, Italy, March 2022.

Changing the Nature of Electroless Etching with a Syringe Pump: ReEtching and MACE, 3rd International Symposium on Anodization Science and Technology, Awaji, Japan, June 2019

Nanoscience - From curiosity driven research to practical results, Catsense Summer School on Catalysis & Nanoparticles, KU Leuven, Belgium, September 2017.

Pits and Pores Produced by Self-Limiting Electrochemistry of Metals and Silicon, Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (PRIME 2016), Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, October 2016.

Formation of nanostructured films by etching and growth, Summer School on Interfaces and Energy, Göttingen, Germany, September 2016.

Electron Transfer Reactions at the Liquid/Solid Interface, Summer School on Interfaces and Energy, Göttingen, Germany, September 2016.

Stain Etching and Metal Assisted Etching of Silicon, Nanostructures for Sensing and Energy Conversion, Algiers, Algeria, March 2014.

Electroless Etching of Si with VO2+, Fe3+, Ce4+, IrCl62– and IO3–: When and How It Works, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2012, Malaga, Spain, March 2012.

Nanostructure Formation via Electroless Etching, Villa Conference on Interactions Among Nanostructures (VCIAN 2011), Las Vegas, NV, USA, April 2011.

NanoMicro-Structured Silicon: Pits, Pillars, Pores and Powder, Philadelphia Society for Microscopy Symposium, Philadelphia, PA, USA, November 2010.

Rational Design of Etchants for Electroless Porous Silicon Formation, Keynote Lecture, 218th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Las Vegas, NV, USA, October 2010.

New Routes to Microporous and Macroporous Silicon, First International Conference on Thin Films and Porous Materials, Algiers, Algeria, May 2008.

The Dynamics of Pillar Formation During Chemically Enhanced Laser Ablation, SPIE Conference on Damage to VUV, EUV & X-ray Optics, Prague, Czech Republic, April 2007.

Texturing of Surfaces by Laser Processing, 2nd Kyoto-Erlangen Symposium on Advanced Energy and Materials, Kyoto, Japan, October 2006.

Conference Presentations

Radical Surface Chemistry: The Surprising Reactivity of Silica and Partially Oxidized Porous Silicon Surfaces, Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (PRIME 2024), Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, October 2024.

H2O2 Generation and Antibacterial Action of an Aqueous Solution Produced with Porous Silicon, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2024, Brno, Czechia, April 2024.

Surface Chemistry of Aqueous Solutions in Contact with Porous and Non-Porous Silica Micro- & Nano-particles, Gordon Research Conference on Dynamics at Surfaces, Newport, RI, USA July 2023.

Hierarchical Nanostructuring of Porous Silicon with Regenerative Electroless Etching for Biomedical Applications, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2022, Lido Di Camaiore, Italy, 2022.

Injection Metal-Assisted Catalytic Etching (MACE) of Si Powder: Discovery of Low-Load MACE and Pore Distribution Tunability Using Ag, Au, Pd, Pt and Cu Catalysts, Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (PRIME 2020), Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, October 2020.

Changing the nature of electroless etching with a syringe pump: ReEtching, MACE and low load MACE, National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Diego, CA, USA, August 2019

Forming photoluminescent Si nanostructures through regenerative electroless etching and laser ablation, Dynamics at Surfaces Gordon Research Conference, Newport Rhode Island, USA, August 2019.

Hierarchical Porous Silicon and Porous Silicon Nanowires Produced with Regenerative Electroless Etching (ReEtching) and Metal Assisted Catalytic Etching (MACE), Americas International Meeting on Electrochemistry and Solid State Science (AIMES 2018), Cancun, Mexico, September 2018.

Crystallographically Defined Silicon Macropore Membranes, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2018, La Grande Motte, France, March 2018.

Which Way Is Up in Metal Assisted Catalytic Etching (MACE) of Silicon, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2018, La Grande Motte, France, March 2018.

Regenerative Electroless Etching (ReEtching) of Silicon, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2018, La Grande Motte, France, March 2018.

Regenerative Electroless Etching of Silicon, 232th Electrochemical Society Meeting, Baltimore, MD, USA, October 2017.

Charge Transfer at the Liquid/Semiconductor Interface to Affect Nanostructure Formation, Dynamics at Surfaces Gordon Research Conference, Newport Rhode Island, USA, August 2017.

Stain Etching to Produce Photoluminescent Porous Si Powders, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2016, Tarragona, Spain, March 2016.

The Effects of Laser Ablation Texturing and Nanoparticles on Anodic Nanotube and Porous Film Formation, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2016, Tarragona, Spain, March 2016.

Porous Layers Composed of Oxide Crystallites Formed by the Combination of Laser Ablation and Anodization of Metal, 228th Electrochemical Society Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, USA, October 2015.

Stoichiometry and Mechanism of Metal Assisted Etching of Si in V2O5 + HF and HOOH + HF Solutions, 2015 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting & Exhibit, San Francisco, CA, USA, April 2015.

Mechanism Changes Caused by Metal Catalyst During Silicon Etching in V2O5 + HF Solutions, American Vacuum Society 61st International Symposium, Baltimore, MD, USA, November 2014.

Mechanism Changes Caused by Metal Catalyst During Silicon Etching, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2014, Benidorm, Spain, March 2014.

The Role of Holes AND Electrons in Photo- and Electro-Chemistry on H-Terminated Si Surfaces, Dynamics at Surfaces Gordon Research Conference, Newport Rhode Island, USA, August 2013.

Stain Etching of Silicon with and without the Aid of Metal Catalysts, Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (PRIME 2012), Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, October 2012.

Metal Assisted Etching of Silicon in a V2O5 plus HF Solutions, Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (PRIME 2012), Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, October 2012.

What Controls Etching of Silicon in Fluoride Solutions? Dynamics at Surfaces Gordon Research Conference, Newport Rhode Island, USA, August 2011.

Stain Etching of Silicon with V2O5, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2010, Valencia, Spain, March 2010.

Stain Etching with Ferric Ion to Produce Thick Porous Silicon Films, Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science (PRIME 2008), Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, October 2008.

Novel Stain Etchant Formulation Using the Ferric Ion, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2008, Mallorca, Spain, March 2008.

Macroporous Silicon Formed from Laser Textured Pillar-Covered Silicon Substrates, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2008, Mallorca, Spain, March 2008.

Development of Endothelial Cells on Pillar-Covered Silicon, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2008, Mallorca, Spain, March 2008.

Dynamics of Mesoscale and Nanoscale Structure Formation by Means of Laser Ablation and Wet Etching, Dynamics at Surfaces Gordon Research Conference, New Hampshire, USA, August 2007.

Sum Frequency Generation From Porous Silicon, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2006, Stiges-Barcelona, Spain, March 2006

Controlling Si Stain Etching by Controlling Hole Injection, Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology 2006, Stiges-Barcelona, Spain, March 2006

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