Research

Our research is focused in developing new sustainable organic transformations with transition metals, photoredox catalysts, organocatalysts, and applying them to make feedstock chemicals, natural products, bioactive molecules and materials. Our work spans the areas of organic, organometallic and photoredox chemistry, complex molecules synthesis, and polymer synthesis, PAH synthesis, and nanographene synthesis. Our current research focuses are outlined below and we encourage you to check our publications for our detailed studies.

We gratefully thank the following sponsors for generously supporting our research:

Focus-1: Thermal Processes for Alkene Dicarbofunctionalization Reactions

The catalytic alkene dicarbofunctionalization reactions are unique transformations that cannot be achieved using other methodology. Our methods address a significant evidence gap in organic chemistry. Our long-term goal is to devise and create such reactions by intercepting alkylmetal intermediates, generated in situ after the addition of organic coupling partners to alkenes, using a second source of organic coupling partners. Devising cost-effective and efficient methods to dicarbofunctionalize unactivated alkenes will provide novel routes to build biologically important molecules and therapeutic agents.

Three-Component Alkene Dicarbofunctionalization Reactions

Two-Component Alkene Dicarbofunctionalization (Cyclization/Coupling) Reactions

 

Focus-2: Photoredox Processes for Alkene Difunctionalization Reactions

We are also developing catalytic photoredox processes for alkene difunctionalization reactions. We are currently focusing on this radical approach to solving outstanding issues in alkene dicarbofunctionalization with the thermal processes. In addition, we are also harnessing this radical process to develop carbooxygenation, carboamination, diamination, dioxgenation, and cyclization reactions with new mechanistic insights.

 

Focus-3: Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules and Natural Products

Our group harnesses the potential of our alkene dicarbofunctionalization reactions in the rapid and concise synthesis of bioactive molecules and natural products. Our long-term goal in this area is to create new synthetic protocols and revamp retrosynthetic pathways to complex molecules so that these compounds could be made in short synthetic routes. We reimagine synthetic routes for future.

 

Focus-4: Synthesis of PAH’s and Nanographenes

Precise construction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their larger structures, nanographenes (NGs), is possible through organic synthetic reactions. Though PAHs and NGs have been well explored, studies of their properties with systematic variation of electronic nature remain very difficult largely because of lack of a unified method that can introduce different functional groups.  Hence, our research in this area seeks to address this gap.

This is our new direction – stay tuned!

(structures are hypothetical)

 

Focus-5: Organometallic Synthesis and Mechanistic Studies

We conduct detailed mechanistic studies of our catalytic reactions to understand their working principle and improve their scope and synthetic application. We perform these studies through the synthesis and characterization organometallic complexes that can potentially function as catalysts, pre-catalysts and reaction intermediates in the catalytic process. We use these organometallic complexes to examine their reactivity and selectivity in reactions. We also investigate reaction mechanisms by detailed kinetic studies by real-time in-situ 1H and 19F NMR spectroscopy, and gas chromatography.