Research
Main Group Catalysis
The development of highly efficient catalysts that can perform specific organic transformations is at the forefront of contemporary research for both industry and academia. Catalysts have traditionally been the purview of transition metals. Our group is actively engaged in innovative catalyst designs where main-group elements are employed. A few fundamental aspects that we are currently exploring in this direction: (1) structural constraint empowered Lewis acid catalysts; (2) Multiply charged ions and Coulomb explosion; (3) Photo-redox Catalysis; (4) Bio-inspired Cooperativity and Catalysis; (5) Redox-active Ligands in Catalysis.
In the forward-looking direction, we are working to establish main-group catalytic manifolds as sustainable pragmatic alternatives of the expensive and toxic transition-metal catalysts. We combine our experimental work with computational study and machine learning.
Main Group Elements in Energy Applications
High energy density and low-cost lithium-ion batteries are currently in extreme demands for portable electronics and particularly to facilitate the deep penetration of electric vehicles. Despite the high lithium storage capacity, Si is not sufficiently commercialized due to large volume expansion during lithiation causing mechanical breaking problem and solid-electrolyte interface instability leading to lithium loss and operating security issues. Silicon-based nano materials is one of the powerful strategies to mitigate this problem. After our initial success with Ge-based nano-composites as lithium-ion battery anode materials, we are currently engaged in preparing well-defined Si-based nano structures for lithium-ion battery anodes. We are exploring the surface engineered main-group element based nano structures for optoelectronic and catalytic applications.
Main Group Hybrid Polymers and Clusters
Conducting polymer is a mature field, where, the development has pivoted around the synthetic organic polymers with delocalized pi-electrons serving as the means of electronic conductivity on ensuing chemical/electrochemical doping. We are engaged in developing synthetic methodologies for introducing main-group elements in the polymer backbone, emphasizing orbital overlap for efficient charge-transport pathways. Structure-property relationships are drawn for the polymers and clusters for their usage as appropriate functional materials.