Debabrata Maiti

Professor

Room 215, Chemistry Bldg.
+91 22 2576 7155
Educational Background:

Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, USA

M.Sc., IIT Bombay

Professional Experience:

Post-doc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA 

Assistant Professor, IIT Bombay (2011)

Associate Professor, IIT Bombay (2015)

Professor, IIT Bombay (2021)

Research Interest:

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
 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
  3. Heterocyclic Chemistry: Metal mediated diverse method development for pharmaceuticals
  4. Quantum Dots (QD) Photoredox Catalysis: Development of recyclable heterogenous photocatalytic system
  5. Lignin Valorization: Improving Lignin Processing by Catalysis

Publications:
Das, J†.; Dolui, P†.; Ali, W.; Biswas, J. P.; Chandrashekar, H. B.; Prakash, G; Maiti, D.
Chem. Sci. 2020 (ASAP)

Dutta, U.; Porey, S.; Pimparkar, S.; Mandal, A; Grover, J; Koodan, A; Maiti, D.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020 (ASAP)

Bag, S.; K, S.; Mondal, A.; Jayarajan, R.; Dutta, U.; Porey, S.; Sunoj, R. B.; Maiti. D.
J. Am. Chem. Soc, 2020, 142, 12453

Porey, S.; Zhang, X.; Bhowmick, S.; Singh, V. K.; Guin, S.; Paton, R. S.; Maiti. D.
J. Am. Chem. Soc, 2020, 142, 3762-3774 (This paper appears in synfacts contribution)