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Tolga Karsili, Ph.D.

Marvin & Warren Boudreaux Associate Professor of Chemistry

Montgomery Hall, Room 131 

P.O. Box 43700
Lafayette, LA 70504
tolga.karsili@louisiana.edu
Google Scholar
 

Education:

  • 2014: Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Advisor: Prof. Michael Ashfold FRS. Experimental gas phase photodissociation dynamics.
  • 2010: M.Sci. Chemistry with Honors, University of Birmingham, UK.
     

Professional Appointments:

  • 2024 – Present: Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LA, USA.
  • 2018 – 2024: Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LA, USA.
  • 2016 – 2018: Post-doctoral research associate, Computational and Theoretical Chemistry, Temple University, PA, USA.
  • 2014 – 2016: Post-doctoral research associate, Chair for Theoretical Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

Research Interests:

We are interested in developing and applying computational methods for modelling the chemical and physical properties of molecular systems, at both the single-molecule level and in complex environments.

Specific areas of interest are:

1. Electronically Excited State Chemistry

We seek to understand how electronically excited molecules dissipate their internal energy, with a particular emphasis on the mechanisms by which absorbed light is converted into chemical energy following excitation. Earlier work focused on uncovering the pathways that promote photostability in biological chromophores - such as canonical DNA nucleobases and melanin constituents - enabling them to rapidly shed excess energy afforded by electronic excitation and return to their ground-state structures with minimal damage. More recent efforts have shifted toward elucidating energy-transfer processes in biologically and environmentally relevant chromophores in the condensed phase.

2. Atmospheric Chemistry

We aim to understand how volatile organic compounds released into the atmosphere from both anthropogenic and biogenic sources undergo oxidation to produce lower-volatility reactive intermediates, and how these intermediates subsequently participate in gas-phase or multiphase reactions, sunlight-driven photochemistry, or gas-to-particle phase transformations to form aerosol particles.

3. Environmental and Marine Chemistry

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a highly composite mixture of organic materials found in water environments. DOM has vital importance for recycling of essential nutrients as well as participating in the transport and reactivity of many organic components dissolved in rivers, basins and oceans. An important sub-set of such reactions include the production of extremely reactive intermediates (e.g. singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radicals) following absorption of UV-Vis light on ocean surfaces and estuarian waters. In collaboration with Dr. Barbara Marchetti, we aim at investigating the photochemical and photophysical processes involved in the photoexcitation of DOM and its various components. We are particularly interested in how excitation wavelength and local chemical environment effects the evolving photochemistry.

Recent Publications

  1. L. M. Guidry, S. E. Guidry, T. Barua, B. Marchetti, M. F. Vansco, and T. N. V. Karsili, Characterizing the Excited States and Electronic Absorption Spectra of Small Alkylperoxy (RO2•) and Hydroperoxy (•QOOH) Radicals, Photochem, 2025, 5, 26.
     
  2. E. Karlsson, R. Rabayah, T. N. V. Karsili, M. I. Lester, Electronic Spectroscopy and Characterization of the Singly Fluorinated Criegee Intermediate FCHOO, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2025, 129, 36, 8387–8394.
     
  3. L. M. Guidry, K. A. Zeringue, T. Barua, M. F. Vansco, B. Marchetti, and T. N. V. Karsili, Thermal and Photoinduced Chemistry of the Aromatic Criegee Intermediate, Benzaldehyde Oxide: Implications for Indoor Air Quality, Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2025, DOI: 10.1111/php.70029.
     
  4. L. M. Guidry, C. A. Poirier, A. Yigiter, T. P. Legg, B. Marchetti, M. N. R. Ashfold, M. F. Vansco, and T. N. V. Karsili, Unraveling Electronic Effects that Influence the Bimolecular Chemistry of Fluorinated Criegee Intermediates, ChemPhysChem, 2025, 26, e202401023.
     
  5. D. Timsina, D. Duong, J. M. Miller, V. Bell, T. N. V. Karsili, W. A. Hollerman, S. W. Allison, J. Collins, F. Sabri, Spectral analysis and characterization of several polymer encapsulatedphosphor materials for sensing applications, Optical Materials, 2025, 166, 117116.

For a full list of publications click here.