Research Experience

Postdoctoral Research Associate

(Sept 2019 - Present)

Adviser: Prof. Matthew J. Rosseinsky

Materials Innovation Factory, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Project: DYNAPORE (Dynamic responsive porous crystals)-
Link

✓ Designed and synthesized novel amino acid & peptide scaffolds and their flexible metal-organic frameworks (FMOFs) materials with precise control over structural formation. Further, examined them for the sorption and separation of small molecules by constructing chromatographic columns packed with FMOFs.

Ph. D.

(Jan 2014 - May 2019)

Supervisor: Prof. Sanjay K. Mandal

Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, India.

Thesis Title: Flexible and Semirigid Bis(tridentate) Pyridyl, Pyridyl-Amide and Pyridyl-Carboxylate Ligands and their Metal-Organic Coordination Networks: Crystal Engineering and Catalysis - Link

✓ The multidisciplinary doctoral studies focused on synthesis of flexible and semirigid pyridyl-amide linkers and their metal-organic coordination networks for heterogeneous catalysis in C-C bond-forming organic transformations.

✓ Investigated structural diversity in the discovery of multi-dimensional materials by considering synthetic parameters such as temperature influence, ligand flexibility, and metal centre change.

✓ Applied crystal engineering and examined the existence of the rare amide-pseudo amide hydrogen bonding motif in a cocrystal of primary amide and theophylline (API).

Research & Technical Proficiencies

✔ Organic synthesis: Accomplished in designing and synthesizing novel multi-step flexible and semirigid bis(tridentate) pyridyl, pyridyl-amide and pyridyl-carboxylate ligands. Amino acid and peptide-based ligands were successfully synthesized to advance material chemistry.

✔ Inorganic synthesis: Demonstrated expertise in synthesizing multi-dimensional materials (metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and coordination polymers) utilizing both solvothermal and room temperature reaction conditions.

✔ Air/ Moisture Sensitive Reagents: Proficiently prepared and handled air and moisture-sensitive reagents and reactions using specialized techniques such as Schlenk line and Glove box.

✔ Heterogeneous Catalysis Development: Pioneered the development of MOF-based heterogeneous catalysts for catalyzing organic reactions within the research group (during PhD). Employed advanced analytical techniques to investigate the reaction mechanisms.

✔ Chromatographic Column Development: Successfully developed MOFs-packed columns (stationary phases) for gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) applications, achieving efficient separation of small molecules and isomers.

✔ Crystallographic Expertise: Acquired proficiency in single crystal data collection and refinement, structure solution, disorder modeling, weak interaction study, Hirshfeld surface analysis, topological analysis, void calculation, and presentation of data for publication.

✔ Mentorship: Actively guided and mentored undergraduate students and fellow PhD candidates, assisted them in formulating their own research projects.

✔ Effective Collaboration: Established productive collaborations with esteemed research groups, fostering cross-disciplinary research and knowledge exchange.

Instrument Expertise
Single Crystal X-Ray Diffractometer (Bruker Kappa Apex II, Bruker D8 Venture, and Rigaku 007HF Mo rotating anode) | Powder X-ray Diffractometer (Bruker D8 Advance, Bruker D8 Discover, and Rigaku Ultima IV) | Thermal Analysis Instruments (TGA, DTA, and DSC by Shimadzu) | Spectroscopy (NMR (Bruker 400) HRMS, FTIR (Agilent), ATR, and UV-Vis (solid and liquid state, Agilent Cary-5000) | Gas Chromatography (Agilent) | CombiFlash | GC-MS | HPLC | Fluorimeter (Horiba) | Programmable Oven | CHNS-Elemental Analysis (LECO-TruSpec) | Tube Furnace | Hot Stage Microscopy | SEM | EDX | XPS.

Softwares
ChemDraw, OriginPro, APEX3, CrysAlisPro, Olex2, Mercury, CrystalExplorer, Diamond, TOPAS-Academic, CSD database, ICDD, PLATON, ToposPro, Ortep3, Viewer Lite, Biovia Discovery Studio, X'Pert HighScore Plus, CrystalMaker, PyMol, VESTA, SpinWorks, MestreNova, MS-Office, Mendeley.