Research
Our group develops molecular and hybrid catalysts that connect organometallic structure with catalytic function. Current work focuses on green-hydrogen electrocatalysis, catalyst immobilization on electrode interfaces, hydrogen-transfer chemistry, and structure–activity relationships in bioactive metal complexes. Across these themes, we combine synthesis, mechanistic analysis, electrochemical evaluation, structural characterization, and data-assisted interpretation.
Design and evaluation of molecular and molecularly derived catalysts for hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, and electrochemical energy-conversion reactions.
Anchoring molecular catalysts on conductive and photoactive supports to understand activity, durability, interfacial stability, and catalyst retention.
Development of organometallic systems for hydrogen transfer, acceptorless dehydrogenation, and chemically interpretable sustainable transformations.
Catalytic strategies for LOHC chemistry, biomass upgrading, CO2-relevant chemistry, and low-waste synthetic transformations.
Curated datasets, molecular descriptors, statistical analysis, and AI/ML-assisted interpretation of catalyst performance and durability.
Structure–activity studies of metal complexes for antimicrobial, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic response.
Current Work
We design molecular and molecularly derived electrocatalysts for green-hydrogen-relevant reactions, especially hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution. The work connects ligand design, metal identity, redox behavior, proton-transfer chemistry, and electrode response to understand how molecular structure controls catalytic performance.
A major aim is to develop base-metal catalyst platforms that are chemically interpretable, experimentally reproducible, and comparable across homogeneous, immobilized, and molecularly derived systems.
Current Work
A central direction of the group is the immobilization of molecular catalysts on conductive and photoactive supports. We study how anchoring mode, support identity, electrolyte pH, and interfacial retention control activity and operational stability. The goal is to preserve molecular tunability while achieving the durability required for heterogeneous electrochemical operation.
Current Work
A parallel direction in the group uses structurally defined metal complexes to relate coordination environment to biological response. Rather than treating activity as a screening result alone, we examine how metal identity, nuclearity, donor set, halide coordination, and molecular compactness influence antimicrobial, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic behavior.
Recent quinoline-derived systems illustrate this structure–activity logic, where related ligand scaffolds can produce distinct biological outcomes depending on metal identity and coordination architecture. This work now guides antifungal and antibiofilm studies with copper and related coordination compounds.
Past Work
Earlier work focused on the synthesis, structure, and reactivity of organometallic and coordination complexes. These studies established a foundation in ligand effects, metal–ligand cooperation, proton responsiveness, and catalytic transformations mediated by well-defined molecular systems.
A major part of this work connected organometallic structure with hydrogen-transfer reactivity, including transfer hydrogenation, alcohol dehydrogenation, and LOHC-relevant chemistry.
Past Work
We investigated high-valent manganese organometallic complexes as models for elementary bond-forming steps with first-row transition metals. This work focused on oxidative addition to Mn(I), isolable Mn(III)–aryl intermediates, redox-induced reductive elimination, reversible ligand dearomatization, and C–X/C–C bond-forming reactivity.
These studies showed that suitable ligand environments can stabilize unusual manganese oxidation states and support reactivity patterns more commonly associated with precious-metal organometallic chemistry. The work provided a foundation for our current interest in redox-active molecular platforms, ligand-controlled reactivity, and sustainable base-metal catalysis.
Past Work
Past work also examined how ligand architecture controls catalytic response in organometallic systems. Ylide-containing ligand frameworks provided a useful platform for tuning electronic structure, metal–ligand cooperation, and measurable reactivity trends.
These studies connect molecular structure with catalytic performance and provide a foundation for the group’s current interest in descriptor-guided catalyst design.
Collaborative Directions
Our collaborative work connects molecular catalyst design with electrode interfaces, reproducible electrochemical platforms, hydrogen-transfer chemistry, and bioactive coordination compounds. These efforts are built around complementary expertise in molecular synthesis, materials interfaces, electrochemistry, biological evaluation, and data-assisted catalyst analysis.
International · Green Hydrogen
A proposed India–Brazil–South Africa platform linking programmable Fe/Co/Ni molecular catalysts, hydrogen-transfer chemistry, and printed or standardized electrode architectures for green-hydrogen benchmarking.
Collaborators: Prof. Juliano Alves Bonacin (UNICAMP, BRAZIL), Prof. Andrew J. Swarts (University of the Witwatersrand, SOUTH AFRICA), Dr. Biswajit Saha (CSIR NEIST, INDIA), and Dr. Sreetama Ghosh (VIT, INDIA).
Bilateral · Molecular Interfaces
A collaborative plan to immobilize manganese carbonyl macrocycles and proton-responsive Fe/Co/Ni complexes on graphene, graphene oxide, glassy carbon, and carbon nanotube supports.
Collaborators: Prof. Tsz-Fai Leung (National Sun Yat-sen University, TAIWAN) and Dr. Sreetama Ghosh (VIT, INDIA).
National · Descriptor-Guided Electrocatalysis
A descriptor-guided molecular electrocatalysis proposal focused on Fe/Co/Ni catalyst families, proton-responsive and redox-active ligand units, HER/OER testing, and catalyst-integrity mapping.
Collaborators: Dr. Biswajit Saha (CSIR NEIST, INDIA), Dr. Sreetama Ghosh (VIT, INDIA), and Dr. Dibyendu Mallik (Presidency University, INDIA).
Seed Grant · Bioactive Materials
A multidisciplinary VIT proposal developing ligand-controlled copper antifungal systems, copper-release/activity correlations, biofilm assays, and early foliar formulation concepts for crop protection.
Collaborator: Dr. R. Vidya (VIT, INDIA).