Dr. R. B. Sunoj

    Associate Professor

    Department of Chemistry

    Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

    Powai, Mumbai 400076

    Ph:   022-2576 7173

    Fax:  022-2576 7152

    Email: sunoj[at]chem.iitb.ac.in

    Group Webpage

Academic Background

Ph.D. (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore)

M.Sc. (University of Kerala)

B.Sc. (Unviersity of Kerala)

Professional Experience

Post-doctoral Research Associate ( The Ohio State University, Columbus), 2001-2003

Research Interests

Understanding chemical reactions in greater detail requires numerous different information such as structural parameters, orbital interactions, energetic details, effect of media and other external perturbations.  One of my basic research goals is to answer questions on stereoselectivity, catalysis, stability and reactivity of reactive intermediates, kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of chemical transformation etc. I use standard ab initio and density functional theory calculations as powerful tools to address problems in these situations. Often times, such questions are rooted directly on experimental observations. Applications of quantum chemical calculations to systems of immediate practical significance is further more interesting due to their nearly direct relationship with experiments.

Questions will range from reactivities of interesting small molecules to conformational issues in large bio-molecular systems. Research projects will include applications of standard methods for locating precise transition states of complex organic reactions. The approach requires both chemical intuition as well as in-depth understanding of the reaction. Computational methods will also be applied in understanding molecular vibrations, electronic transitions as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts. Quantification of electronic effects such as hyperconjugation will be done using natural bond orbital analysis (NBO) methods. Conformational studies on bio molecules and other fluxional systems will be studied by a combination of Monte Carlo and ab initio methods.

Representative Publications

• Sharma, A. K.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Stereocontrol in Proline-Catalyzed Asymmetric Amination: A Comparative Assessment of the Role of Enamine Carboxylic Acid and Enamine Carboxylate' Chem. Commun. 2011, 47, 5759


• Shinisha, C. B.; Sunoj, R. B. 'Transition State Models for Probing Stereoinduction in Evans Chiral Auxiliary-Based Asymmetric Aldol Reactions' J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 12315.


• Patel, C.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'TiCl4 Promoted Baylis-Hillman Reaction: Mechanistic Rationale Toward Product Distribution and Stereoselectivity' J. Org. Chem. 2010, 75, 359.


• Shinisha, C. B.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'The pivotal role of chelation as a stereochemical control element in non-Evan's anti aldol product formation' Org. Lett. 2010, 12, 2868 .


• Roy, D.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Ni, Pd, or Pt Catalyzed Ethylene Dimerization: A Mechanistic Description of the Catalytic Cycle and the Active Species' Org. Bimol. Chem. 2010, 8, 1040.


• Sharma, A. K.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Enamine versus Oxazolidinone: What Controls Stereoselectivity in Proline-Catalyzed Asymmetric Aldol Reactions?' Angew. Chemie. Int. Ed. 2010 49, 6373


• Rajeev, R.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'On the Origin of Reversible Hydrogen Activation by Phosphino-Boranes' Chem. Eur. J. 2009, 15, 12846.


• Shinisha, C. B.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'On the Origin of Kinetic Resolution of Cyclohexane 1,2-diols Through Stereoselective Acylation by Chiral Tetrapeptides' Org. Lett. 2009, 11 , 3242.


• Patil, M. P.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'On the Relative Preference of Enamine/Iminium Pathways in Organocatalytic Michael Addition of Aldehydes to a,b-Unsaturated Ketones' Chem. Asian J. 2009, 4, 714.


• Roy, D.; Patel, C.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Mechanistic Insights and the Role of Co-catalysts in Aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman and Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction' J. Org. Chem. 2009, 74, 6936.


• Janardanan, D.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Enantio and Diastereoselectivities in Chiral Sulfur Ylide Promoted Asymmetric Aziridination Reactions' J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 8163.


• Shinisha, C. B; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Unraveling High Precision Stereocontrol in a Triple Cascade Organocatalytic Reaction' Org. Biomol. Chem. 2008, 6, 3921. :[featured as the front cover page of issue no 21, 2008]


• Roy, D.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Water-Catalysis in Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction: A Mechanistic Perspective' Chem. Eur. J. 2008, 14, 10530.


• Patil, M. P; Sunoj, R. B.; 'The Role of Non-innocent Solvent Molecules in Organocatalyzed Asymmetric Michael Reaction' Chem. Eur. J. 2008, 14, 10472.


• Roy, D.; Patel, C.; Liebman, J. F.; Sunoj, R. B.; 'Probing Intramolecular Interactions in Arylselenides Using a Property Descriptor Based Approach' J. Phys. Chem. A. 2008, 112, 8797-8803.


• Roy, D.;Sunoj, R. B.; 'Ab initio and Density Functional Theory Evidence on the Rate-Limiting Step in Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction'; Org. Lett. 2007, 9, 4873-4876.


• Patil, M. P.;Sunoj, R. B.; ''Insights on Co-catalyst Promoted Enamine Formation between Dimethylamine and Propanal through Ab-initio and Density Functional Theory Study''; J. Org. Chem. 2007, 72, 8202-8213.


• Janardanan, D.; Sunoj, R. B.; Computational Investigations on the General Reaction Profile and Diastereoselection in Sulfur Ylide Promoted Aziridinations. Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 4805-4815.


• Shinisha, C.B.; Sunoj, R. B.;Bicyclic Bifunctional Organocatalysts for Stereoselective Aldol Reactions: an In-Silico DFT Study. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2007, 5,1287.


• Janardanan, D.; Sunoj, R. B.; Density Functional Theory Investigations on Sulfur Ylide Promoted Cyclopropanation Reactions: Insights on Mechanism and Diastereoselection Issues. J. Org. Chem. 2007, 72, 331.