It was with Friedrich Wöhler that synthetic organic chemistry became a new alias of the heresy that could  disprove the clichéd notion of the Vitalism Theory - where creation of all organic molecules was presumed to be from life itself. Since then, organic chemistry rose to a height of divine prowess as naturally important molecules could be independently prepared in an artificial setting within a chemical lab. Such a drastic development was further expedited by the meteoric emergence of catalytic chemistry. In this regard, site selective C-H activation has emerged as a most economical and efficient technology, that direct fascinating  chemical transformations at phenomenal success rates with an impressive array of a high order of regio and chemo selectivity under ambient conditions.

 

At IIT Bombay, we specialize in the regioselective transformation of C-X bonds via a plethora of functionalization/defunctionalization pathways through metal catalyzed chemical processes. Our group currently focuses on

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1. Remote C-H Functionalization: Site selective functionalization of distal C–H bonds in both aromatic and aliphatic systems 

   

2. Bioinspired Catalysis: Mimicking the enzymatic active site and thus their functions

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3. Heterocyclic Chemistry: Metal and non-metal mediated diverse method development for pharmaceuticals 

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4. Photo-catalysis: Development of Ni/photoredox catalysis and excited state Pd-photocatalysis 

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5.  Electrochemistry: Metal-mediated electrocatalyzed C-C and C-X bond formation

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