Research Projects

The increasing demand for sustainable processes calls for innovative strategies that valorise abundant feedstocks such as alcohols under mild conditions. In this proposal, we intend to investigate underexplored areas and challenges associated with alcohol dehydrogenation that have not been thoroughly addressed yet. This proposal integrates asymmetric catalysis, photocatalysis, and single-atom catalysis to unlock the full potential of small alcohols like methanol, ethanol, and glycerol as green building blocks for chemical transformations and H₂ production. The proposed work will expand the scope of asymmetric synthesis, photocatalysis, single-atom catalysis and will make an impact in sustainable and efficient chemical processes. This proposal aims to develop new asymmetric catalytic methodologies using methanol as both a methylating agent and a hydrogen donor. Given the challenges posed by methanol’s high dehydrogenation barrier and the lack of established asymmetric methods in this area, the project focuses on designing chiral bi- and tridentate ligands to generate electron-rich metal centers capable of activating methanol under mild conditions. We aim to synthesize several transition metal complexes bearing chiral ligands having N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC), cyclometalated fragments, and proton-responsive units to enhance electron density and stability. Using these catalysts, we propose to explore three classes of asymmetric transformations: (i) asymmetric methylation of active methylene group-containing small molecules; (ii) asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of unsaturated substrates; (iii) asymmetric reductive methylation. Another aspect of this proposal focuses on the development of an efficient photocatalytic system for the dehydrogenation of short-chain alcohols and their subsequent functionalization. While many studies focus on photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols using external oxidants, dehydrogenation remains more challenging with distinct advantages. Alcohols like methanol and ethanol are less reactive due to their higher dehydrogenation enthalpies, which demand greater energy input. To overcome these limitations, we propose the synthesis of metal complexes with finely tuned ligand frameworks that incorporate conjugated chromophores and bifunctional moieties. These features are intended to enhance visible-light absorption, stabilize key transition states, and lower activation energy barriers, enabling efficient catalysis. By eliminating the need for elevated temperatures and excess base, this strategy aims to provide a greener and energy-efficient alternative to traditional methods. The proposed catalysts will be employed to explore short-chain alcohol dehydrogenation, hydrogen production, coupling reactions such as C-alkylation, N-alkylation and N-heterocycle synthesis. Glycerol is a common waste generated during biodiesel production. Instead of letting it go to waste, this proposal aims to convert glycerol into useful and valuable chemicals using specifically designed 3d-M-SACs. SACs supported on Lewis acidic oxides and doped with hetero atoms to enhance substrate binding and lower the activation energy barriers for -hydride elimination, which favors transformation of glycerol to lactic acid, N-heterocycles under mild conditions. In addition, utilizing SACs towards the electrooxidation of glycerol serves as a dual-purpose route to produce H₂ and lactic acid. SACs offer a tunable platform to improve selectivity and address issues related to the high current densities and scalable product separation in this process. Furthermore, SACs will be employed to catalyze the dehydrogenation of methanol and methyl formate to generate H₂ by reducing energy barriers through electronic structure modulation. Overall, this proposal explores the design of 3d-M-SACs for sustainable glycerol valorization and electrocatalytic H₂ generation from glycerol, methanol, and methyl formate via rational catalyst tuning.