Janet Petroski

Associate Professor of Chemistry
 

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts, California State University
Master of Science, California State University
Doctor of Philosophy, Georgia Institute of Technology

Office: Aquinas Hall, Room 250-B
Office Hours: T/TH 10 - 11 am; W/F 2 - 3 pm or by appointment
Phone: 845-569-3810
Email:  janet.petroski@msmc.edu

Courses

Introductory Chemistry (CHM 1060)
Instrumental Methods of Chemical Analysis (CHM 4110) - Lecture and Laboratory
Natural Science Seminar IV (BIO/CHM 4900)

MSMC Activities
 

• Coordinator of the Natural Sciences Division’s Drop-In Peer Tutoring Program
• Faculty Advisor for Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society
• Member and Faculty Advisor of the Mount Alliance for Green Initiatives on Campus (MAGIC)
• Co-Coordinator of the Natural Science Division’s Family Night
• Faculty Mentor in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)

Research Interests

Nanoscience is the study and manipulation of materials on an atomic level. Due to the high ratio of atoms located on the surface of the nanoparticles (particles between one and a few hundred nanometers in diameter or between tens to thousands of atoms), these materials behave differently than bulk. Transition metals have long been utilized extensively in the area of catalysis, especially for surface-catalyzed reactions. Therefore, the high surface area of transition-metal nanoparticles is conducive to higher catalytic efficiencies than normally seen in bulk metals.

Professor Petroski's research is involved with studying the catalytic efficiency of transition metal nanoparticles, predominantly platinum and gold, by using Attenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR – FTIR). FTIR spectroscopy will provide structural information about the molecules on the surface of the metal nanoparticles. The addition of the ATR accessory will allow us to study the nanoparticles in solution so we can observe a particular catalyzed reaction directly and in real time. The reaction mechanism determined from the spectra will provide not only structural changes to the reactants but kinetic data as well. Being able to achieve this type of detailed information for a reaction will allow for the design of more efficient catalytic nanostructured materials.

Student Presentations

13th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences, October 30, 2010, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD; Poster: “Investigating the Oxidation of 2-Butanol Catalyzed by Au and Pd Nanoparticles Using ATR-FTIR” R. Seepersad, A. Santa, and J. Petroski (awarded 2nd place in the Chemical Sciences Division)

2010 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Symposium, September 22, 2010, Mount Saint Mary College; Poster: “Investigating the Oxidation of 2-Butanol Catalyzed by Au and Pd Nanoparticles Using ATR-FTIR” R. Seepersad, A. Santa, and J. Petroski

2010 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Symposium, September 22, 2010, Mount Saint Mary College; Poster: “Using FTIR to Experimentally Determine the Amount of Capping Material on the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles” A. Santa and J. Petroski

240th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, August 22 – 26, 2010, Boston, MA; Poster: “Investigating the Oxidation of 2-Butanol Catalyzed by Au and Pd Nanoparticles Using ATR-FTIR” R. Seepersad, A. Santa, and J. Petroski

Investigating Research on Campus (iROC) Student Summer Research Poster Session, October 1, 2009, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY; Poster: “Using FTIR to Experimentally Determine the Amount of Capping Material on the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles” J. Kramer, R. Burke, and J. Petroski

238th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, August 16 – 20, 2009, Washington, DC; Poster: “Using FTIR to Experimentally Determine the Amount of Capping Material on the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles” J. Kramer, R. Burke, and J. Petroski

MSMC Science Student Research Poster Session, April 30, 2009, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY; Poster: “Using FTIR to Experimentally Determine the Amount of Capping Material on the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles” J. Kramer, and J. Petroski

American Chemical Society Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 23, 2009, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY; Poster: “Using FTIR to Experimentally Determine the Amount of Capping Material on the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles” J. Kramer, and J. Petroski

Eastern Colleges Science Conference, April 24, 2009, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY; Poster: “Using FTIR to Experimentally Determine the Amount of Capping Material on the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles” J. Kramer, and J. Petroski

Publications

"The coordination chemistry of gold surfaces: Formation and far-infrared spectra of alkanethiolate-capped gold nanoparticles", Petroski, J., Chou, M., and Creutz, C., Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 2009, 694, 1138.

"Rapid Phosphine Exchange on 1.5 nm Gold Nanoparticles", Petroski, J., Chou, M., and Creutz, C., Inorg. Chem., 2004, 43, 1597.

"FTIR Study of the Adsorption of the Capping Material to Different Platinum Nanoparticle Shapes" Petroski, J. and El-Sayed, M., J. Phys. Chem. A., 2003, 107 (40), 8371.

"FTIR Spectroscopy of Flavonols in Argon and Methanol/Argon Matrixes at 10 K. Reexamination of the Carbonyl Stretch Frequency of 3-Hydroxyflavone" Petroski, J., De Sa Valente, C., Kelson, E., and Collins, S., J. Phys. Chem. A., 2002, 106 (48), 11714.

"Platinum Metal Nanoparticles: Investigation of Shape, Surface, Catalysis and Assembly", Ph.D. Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2001.

"Self-Assembly of Platinum Nanoparticles of Various Size and Shape" Petroski, J., Green, T., and El-Sayed, M., J. Phys. Chem. A, 2001, 105 (23), 5542.

"The Activation Energy of the Reaction between Hexacyanoferrate (III) and Thiosulphate Ions Catalyzed by Platinum Nanoparticles" Li, Y., Petroski, J., and El-Sayed, M., J. Phys. Chem. B, 2000, 104 (47), 10956.

Burda, C., Green, T., Landes, C., Link, S., Little, R., Petroski, J., El-Sayed, M. A. "Optical Spectroscopy of Nanophase Material" a chapter in Characterization of Nanophase Materials, edited by Z.L. Wang, Wiley-VCH (2000), 197-241.

"Shape Transformation and Surface Melting of Cubic and Tetrahedral Platinum Nanocrystals" Wang, Z., Petroski, J., Green, T., and El-Sayed, M., J. Phys. Chem. B, 1998, 102 (32), 6145.

"Kinetically Controlled Growth and Shape Formation Mechanism of Platinum Nanoparticles" Petroski, J., Wang, Z., Green, T., and El-Sayed, M., J. Phys. Chem. B, 1998, 102 (18), 3316.

"FTIR Spectroscopy of Flavonoids in Argon and Methanol:Argon Matrices at 10 K and Thermoluminescence Studies of Simple Species in Solid Molecular Hydrogen Matrices", MS Thesis, California State University, Northridge, 1996.