IITKGP
Ganesh Venkataraman, IIT Kharagpur

Ganesh Venkataraman

Assistant Professor Grade-I

Chemistry

+91-3222-283318

ganesh.v@chem.iitkgp.ac.in

Research Areas

  • Synthetic Organic Chemistry
  • Asymmetric Synthesis
  • Transition Metal Catalysis
  • Total Synthesis of Natural Products
  • Photoredox Catalysis

Our main focus is on Organic Synthesis, developing new approaches to molecular skeletons, and building complexity rapidly yet selectively. In our laboratory, we develop such transformations catalyzed by metal salts and organocatalysts to achieve the above goals. Our interests include element-element coupling/addition reactions (element being -B, -Si, -F, -C, -N, -X, etc.), Redox chemistry involving radicals, and so on. 

Transition Metal Catalysis - General Overview

The approach to complex molecular skeletons has transformed with a growing arsenal of efficient synthetic methodologies. Metals play an important role in this due to their diverse reactivity at their various oxidation states. Our group will focus on developing new, interesting multifunctionalization reactions utilizing this diversity.  Some of the major areas that we currently focus on are:

1.  Nickel(0)-Catalyzed Cycloaddition Reactions 

2. Metal-Catalyzed Introduction of Main Group Functionalities & Their Reactivity

3. 1,n-Zwitterion Generation and Reactivity

4. Aromaticity and Soft Materials with Optoelectronic Properties

  • Benchtop Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Coupling of Aldehydes with Alkynes and Ynamides by Khamrai A., Venkataraman G. Chemical Communications 59 11141-11145 (2023)
  • Recent Advances in the Synthesis and Reactivity of Vinylcyclopropanes by Venkataraman G., Chandrasekaran S. Synthesis 48 4347-4380 (2016)
  • Recent Advances in Organophosphorus-Catalyzed Borylation and Silylation Reactions by Biswas K., Das A., Ganesh V. Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis 363 4475-4496 (2021)
  • Strain Release of Donor-Acceptor Cyclopropyl Boronate Complexes by Gregson C. G., Venkataraman G. , Aggarwal V. Organic Letters 21 3412-3416 (2019)
  • Chiral Aniline Synthesis via Stereospecific C(sp3 ) C(sp2 ) Coupling of Boronic Esters with Aryl Hydrazines by Venkataraman G., Noble A. , Aggarwal V. K. Organic Letters 20 6144-6147 (2018)
  • Alkynyl Moiety for Triggering 1,2 Metallate Shifts: Enantiospecific sp2 sp3 Coupling of Boronic Esters with p Arylacetylenes by Venkataraman G., Odachowski M. , Aggarwal V. K. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 56 9752-9755 (2017)
  • Enantiospecific sp2-sp3 Coupling of Chiral Boronic Esters with o- and p-Phenols. by Wilson C. M., Venkataraman G. , Noble A. , Aggarwal V. K. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 56 16318-16322 (2017)
  • Tandem Ring Opening/Cyclization of Vinylcyclopropanes: A Facile Synthesis of Chiral Bicyclic Amidines by Venkataraman G., Sureshkumar D. , Chandrasekaran S. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50 5878-5881 (2011)
  • Dual Functionalization of Alkynes Utilizing the Redox Characteristics of Transition Metal Catalysts by Ghosh S., Chakrabortty R. , Venkataraman G. ChemCatChem 13 4262-4298 (2021)

Principal Investigator

  • GCMS Instrument for External Use (Dept. of Chemistry) Various Government and Non-Government Organisations
  • GCMS Instrument for Internal Use (Dept. of Chemistry) VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS/CENTRES OF IIT KHARAGPUR
  • Ligand-Enabled Regioselective Cyclotrimerization of Alkynes Through Ion-Pairing and Other Weak Interactions Ministry of Education
  • Photocatalytic Difunctionalization of Unsaturated Substrates via Radical Interception of Metallacycloadducts Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

Ph. D. Students

Aankhi Khamrai

Area of Research: Metal Mediated Difunctionalization of Unsaturated Systems

Arnab Rooj

Area of Research: Tranistion Metal Catalysis

Rajesh Chakrabortty

Area of Research: Transition Metal Catalysis, Boron Chemistry

Shailendra Kumar

Area of Research: Transition Metal Catalysis, Boron Chemistry

Shobhondeb Giri

Area of Research: Tranistion Metal Catalysis

Sibasish Pattnaik

Area of Research: Metal Mediated Difunctionalization of Unsaturated Systems

Tamal Ballav

Area of Research: Metal Mediated Difunctionalization of Unsaturated Systems