Nanoscience

laser synthesis

ultrafast dissociation dynamics

metastable nanomaterials

nanocatalysts

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Temple University, 2012-2015
• Graduate Intern, Sandia National Laboratories, 2011
• Ph.D., Chemistry, Princeton University, 2012
• A.B., Chemistry, Princeton University, 2005

Research Interests

Pulsed laser synthesis of nanomaterials in liquid

• Metal-oxide and metal-carbon nanocomposites for catalysis and energy applications
• Characterization of nanoparticles and molecular byproducts to determine reaction mechanisms
• Time-resolved probing of reactive intermediates in laser-induced plasma

Ultrafast spectroscopy of isolated organic cations

• Pump-probe spectroscopy with mass spectrometric detection coupled to quantum chemical and molecular dynamics simulations
• Dissociation timescales and selective detection of energetic molecules (e.g., explosives)
• Coherent control of molecular dissociation

Select Publications

L. M. Frias Batista, E. Kaplan, C. Weththasingha, B. Cook, S. Harris, A. Nag., and K. M. Tibbetts, “How Pulse Width Affects Laser Ablation of Organic Liquids” J. Phys. Chem. B 2023 127 6551-6561

L. M. Frias Batista, M. Moody, C. Weththasingha, E. Kaplan, I. Faruque, M. S. El-Shall, and K. M. Tibbetts, “Understanding photochemical pathways of laser-induced metal ion reduction through byproduct analysis” Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2023 25 18844-18853

A. Nag, C. M. Nguyen, and K. M. Tibbetts, “Heterogeneous to homogeneous Cu-Ag nanoparticles by laser reduction in liquid” Appl. Surf. Sci. 2023 610 155384

J. M. Shusterman, G. L. Gutsev, H. A. López Peña, B. R. Ramachandran, and K. M. Tibbetts, “Coulomb Explosion Dynamics of Multiply Charged para-Nitrotoluene Cations”, J. Phys. Chem. A 2022 126 6617-6627

S. L. McPherson, J. M. Shusterman, H. A. López Peña, D. Ampadu Boateng, and K. M. Tibbetts, “Quantitative Analysis of Nitrotoluene Isomer Mixtures Using Femtosecond Time-Resolved Mass Spectrometry” Anal. Chem. 2021 93 11268-11274

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Awards

• VCU Women in Science, Medicine, and Dentistry (WiSDM) Professional Achievement Award, 2024
• Kavli Fellow, 2023
• VCU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award, 2020
• Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE), 2019
• VCU CHS Excellence in Scholarship in Math and Sciences Award, 2019