Main Group Chemistry:

• Low coordinate s- and p-block compounds
• Reactive cations and dications
• Lewis acid catalysis.

Research Group

Research Scientific Staff

• Dr. Kriti Pathak

PhD Students

• Deepti Sharma
• Sheetal Kathayat Bisht
• Suban Kundu
• Annabel Benny
• Jerin Joseph

BSMS Major Project Students

• Aqil Suhaib 

Selected Publications

An aldehyde-stabilised alkoxyaluminium dication
A. Benny, D. Vijayan, A. P. Andrews, T. Rajeshkumar, L. Maron, A. Venugopal, Chemical Communications, 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s44160-024-00724-0.

Synthesis and reactivity of an antimony(III) dication
D. Sharma, A. Benny, A. P. Andrews, T. Rajeshkumar, L. Maron, A. Venugopal, Nature Synthesis, 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s44160-024-00724-0.

Quest for active species in Al/B-catalyzed CO₂ hydrosilylation

S. K. Bisht, D. Sharma, R. Kannan, T. Rajeshkumar, L. Maron, A. Venugopal, Inorganic Chemistry, 2023, 63, 18453.

Mechanistic investigations on bismuth catalyzed reduction of ketones and phosphine oxides
A. Benny, D. Sharma, Ankur, T. Rajeshkumar, L. Maron, A. Venugopal, Chemistry -A European Journal, 2023, e202300588.

Crystallographic evidence for a continuum and reversal of roles in primary–secondary interactions in antimony Lewis acids: Applications in carbonyl activation
D. Sharma, A. Benny, R. Gupta, E. D. Jemmis, A. Venugopal, Chemical Communications, 2022, 58, 11009.

Reversing Lewis acidity from bismuth to antimony
D. Sharma, S. Balasubramaniam, S. Kumar, E. D. Jemmis, A. Venugopal, Chemical Communications, 2021, 57, 8889.

Cationic zinc hydride catalyzed carbon dioxide reduction to formate: Deciphering elementary reactions, isolation of intermediates, and computational investigations
R. Chambenahalli, R. M. Bhargav, K. N. McCabe, A. P. Andrews, F. Ritter, J. Okuda, L. Maron, A. Venugopal, Chemistry -A European Journal, 2021, 27, 7391.

Electrophilic organobismuth dication catalyzes carbonyl hydrosilylation
R. Kannan, S. Balasubramaniam, S. Kumar, R. Chambenahalli, E. D. Jemmis, A. Venugopal, Chemistry -A European Journal, 2020, 26, 12717.

Organoaluminum cation for carbonyl activation
R. Kannan, R. Chambenahalli, S. Kumar, A. Krishna, A. P. Andrews, E. D. Jemmis, A. Venugopal, Chemical Communications, 2019, 55, 14629.
 
Terminal hydridozinc cation
R. Chambenahalli, A. P. Andrews, F. Ritter, J. Okuda, A. Venugopal, Chemical Communications, 2019, 55, 2054.
 
Disguised hydride in a butylmagnesium cation
S. Banerjee, Ankur, A. P. Andrews, A. Venugopal, Chemical Communications, 2018, 54, 5788.
 
Consequence of ligand bite angle on bismuth Lewis acidity
R. Kannan, S. Kumar, A. P. Andrews, E. D. Jemmis, A. Venugopal, Inorg. Chem., 2017, 56, 9391.

Complete List of Publications
https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=r4Dj8nMAAAAJ&hl=en

Courses Taught at IISER Thiruvananthapuram

• CHY 111:    Basic Organic and Inorganic Chemistry
• CHY 411:   Main Group Chemistry
• CHY 4206: Main Group Catalysis 

Prof. Ajay Venugopal
Professor
School of Chemistry
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Maruthamala P.O., Vithura
Thiruvananthapuram - 695551
Kerala, India

Phone: 0471-2778076
Email: venugopal[at]iisertvm[dot]ac[dot]in