About

Carlos Colosqui is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University. His research focuses on microscale transport phenomena, statistical physics, theoretical and computational fluid dynamics, colloidal systems, and complex fluids. His work involves understanding and modeling transport processes at small scales, contributing to the fields of fluid mechanics and soft matter physics.

Research topics

• Nanotechnology
• Materials science
• Composite material
• Chemical physics
• Optoelectronics
• Optics

Selected publications

• Polymer-Iron Oxide Hybrid Films for Controlling Electrokinetic Properties

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Polymer-Iron Oxide Hybrid Films for Controlling Electrokinetic Properties

  ArXiv.org · 2026-01-05

  articleOpen access

  Electrokinetic phenomena at polymer-water interfaces are central to technologies for water purification, ion separations, and energy conversion, yet the ability to systematically control polymer surface charge and associated electrokinetic processes remains limited. Here, we demonstrate a simple liquid-phase infiltration (LPI) method to synthesize polymer-metal oxide hybrid films with controllable interfacial properties. Hydroxy-terminated poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP-OH) brushes grafted to silicon substrates were infiltrated with iron nitrate from ethanolic solution, followed by low-temperature thermal treatment to convert the infiltrated precursor into iron oxide. Spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed oxide incorporation and hybrid film formation without polymer degradation. Electrokinetic flow characterization reveals that the hybrid films acquire the electrokinetic properties of the infiltrated oxide, with concentration-dependent streaming potentials and surface conductivities closely matching those of pure iron oxide films. These results establish metal oxide infiltration as a scalable and low-cost strategy for controlling interfacial charge in polymer surfaces. The approach introduces new materials and design parameters for tailoring ion selectivity, transport, and energy conversion, with broad implications for the development of advanced membranes, electrokinetic harvesting devices, and polymer-supported oxide electrodes.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Polymer-iron oxide hybrid films for controlling electrokinetic properties

  Applied Surface Science Advances · 2026-03-13

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Electrokinetic phenomena at polymer-water interfaces are central to technologies for water purification, ion separations, and energy conversion, yet the ability to systematically control polymer surface charge and associated electrokinetic processes remains limited. Here, we demonstrate a simple liquid-phase infiltration (LPI) method to synthesize polymer–metal oxide hybrid films with controllable interfacial properties. Hydroxy-terminated poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP-OH) brushes grafted to silicon substrates were infiltrated with iron nitrate from ethanolic solution, followed by low-temperature thermal treatment to convert the infiltrated precursor into iron oxide. Spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed oxide incorporation and hybrid film formation without polymer degradation. Electrokinetic measurements reveal that the hybrid films acquire the electrokinetic properties of the infiltrated oxide, with concentration-dependent streaming potentials and surface conductivities closely matching those of pure iron oxide films. These results establish metal oxide infiltration as a scalable and low-cost strategy for controlling interfacial charge in polymer surfaces. The approach introduces new materials and design parameters for tailoring ion selectivity, transport, and energy conversion, with broad implications for the development of advanced membranes, electrokinetic harvesting devices, and polymer-supported oxide electrodes.

  PublisherDOI

• Polymer-Iron Oxide Hybrid Films for Controlling Electrokinetic Properties

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-01-05

  preprintOpen access

  Electrokinetic phenomena at polymer-water interfaces are central to technologies for water purification, ion separations, and energy conversion, yet the ability to systematically control polymer surface charge and associated electrokinetic processes remains limited. Here, we demonstrate a simple liquid-phase infiltration (LPI) method to synthesize polymer-metal oxide hybrid films with controllable interfacial properties. Hydroxy-terminated poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP-OH) brushes grafted to silicon substrates were infiltrated with iron nitrate from ethanolic solution, followed by low-temperature thermal treatment to convert the infiltrated precursor into iron oxide. Spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed oxide incorporation and hybrid film formation without polymer degradation. Electrokinetic flow characterization reveals that the hybrid films acquire the electrokinetic properties of the infiltrated oxide, with concentration-dependent streaming potentials and surface conductivities closely matching those of pure iron oxide films. These results establish metal oxide infiltration as a scalable and low-cost strategy for controlling interfacial charge in polymer surfaces. The approach introduces new materials and design parameters for tailoring ion selectivity, transport, and energy conversion, with broad implications for the development of advanced membranes, electrokinetic harvesting devices, and polymer-supported oxide electrodes.

  PublisherDOI

• Generalized model for static contact angles and hysteresis on micro/nanostructured surfaces

  Soft Matter · 2026-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  , impregnating Cassie), and highlights a fourth limiting state with potential realizability and practical implications: a bulk Cassie state with an ambient liquid film, termed the inverse Wenzel state. The model predictions provide actionable guidance for the rational design of micro- and nanostructured surfaces to modulate contact angle hysteresis, under real-world operating conditions that are often uncontrolled and unpredictable due to local variations of the surface topography, fouling or contamination at the liquid-solid and liquid-vapor interfaces, chemical aging, kinetic constraints, and fluctuations of the ambient relative humidity and temperature.

  PublisherDOI

• Diffusion in a rough potential: Coarse-fine scale structure and regime crossovers

  Research Square · 2025-09-22

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• ELECTROKINETIC ENERGY CONVERSION AT LOW IONIC STRENGTH: NANOSCALE TOPOGRAPHY AND SURFACE CONDUCTION

  2025-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• A General Model for Static Contact Angles

  ArXiv.org · 2025-09-18

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The problem of contact angle and hysteresis determination has direct implications for engineering applications of wetting, colloid and surface science. Significant technical challenges can arise under real-world operating conditions, because the static contact angle is strongly influenced by contamination at the liquid-solid and liquid-vapor interfaces, chemical aging over long times, and environmental variables such as relative humidity and temperature. Analytical models that account for these real-world effects are therefore highly desirable to guide the rational design of robust applications. This work proposes a unified and simple-to-use model that expands Young's local thermodynamic approach to consider surfaces with topographic features of general geometry and varying degrees of liquid infiltration. The unified model recovers classical wetting limits (Wenzel, Cassie-Baxter, and hemiwicking), accounts for observable intermediate states (e.g., impregnating Cassie), and identifies a new limiting state with potential realizability: a Cassie state accompanied by a precursor film, termed the Inverse Wenzel state.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Dynamic-Kinetic Duality of Particulate and Multiphase Systems

  Research Square · 2025-09-22

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Topographic control of electrical conductivity for enhanced electrokinetic energy conversion

  Journal of Power Sources · 2025-07-04 · 6 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Proposal: Theoretical, computational, and experimental investigations on the interaction between a lipid bilayer membrane and a solid substrate or particle

  NSF · $285k · 2016–2022

• Capillary Diodes with Selective Oil-Water Wetting Dynamics

  NSF · $363k · 2016–2020

Frequent coauthors

• Thomas Cubaud

  14 shared

• Dhiraj Nandyala

  Stony Brook University

  11 shared

• David J. Hwang

  State University of New York

  10 shared

• Amir M. Rahmani

  9 shared

• Esther S. Takeuchi

  Stony Brook University

  7 shared

• Kenneth J. Takeuchi

  Stony Brook University

  7 shared

• Amy C. Marschilok

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  7 shared

• Howard A. Stone

  7 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  2006

• M.S., Mechanical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  2002

• B.S., Mechanical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  2000