KAUST Catalysis Center
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Research Interests

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Deployment of intermittent renewal energy sources and fossil fuel has raised supreme interest towards hydrogen economy. In this perspective, acceptorless dehydrogenation methodology, where extrusion of hydrogen atoms from neighbouring atoms of an organic molecule in the form of molecular hydrogen occurs, has emerged as a powerful approach. However, dehydrogenation reactions are thermodynamically unfavourable and development of catalysts for acceptorless dehydrogenation are therefore challenging. Metal–Ligand cooperativity often been invoked where two close-by metal centers or a cooperating ligand in the vicinity of an active metal site dynamically participates in bond–activation process. In this perspective, the key interest is to design various cooperative catalysts and study their reactivity in mechanistic level towards small molecule activation and in particular for dehydrogenation chemistry.


Selected Publications

  • Double Dehydrogenation of Primary Amines to Nitriles by a Ruthenium Complex Featuring Pyrazole Functionality
    I. Dutta, S. Yadav, A. Sarbajna, S. De, M. Hölscher, W. Leitner and J. K. Bera
    J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018, 140, 8662, (2018)
  • bic Oxidative Coupling of Alcohols and Amines Towards Imine Formation by A Dicopper (I,I) Catalyst
    I. Dutta, S. De, S. Yadav, R. Mondol and J. K. Bera
    J. Organomet. Chem. 2017, 849-850, 117, (2017)
  • Hemilability Driven Water Activation: A Ni(II) Catalyst for Base-Free Hydration of Nitriles to Amides
    K. Singh, A. Sarbajna, I. Dutta, P. Pandey and J. K. Bera
    Chem. Eur. J. 2017, 23, 7761, (2017)
  • Catalytic Conversion of Alcohols to Carboxylic Acid Salts and Hydrogen with Alkaline Water
    A. Sarbajna, I. Dutta, S. Dinda, A. Sarkar, S. M. W. Rahaman and J. K. Bera
    ACS Catal. 2017, 7, 2786, (2017)
  • Inter-Ligand Electronic Coupling Mediated Through Dimetal Bridge: Dependence on Metal Ions and Ancillary Ligands
    M. Majumdar, S. Saha, I. Dutta, A. Sinha and J. K. Bera
    Dalton Trans. 2017, 46, 5660, (2017)
  • Acceptorless Alcohol Dehydrogenation: A Mechanistic Perspective
    Acceptorless Alcohol Dehydrogenation: A Mechanistic Perspective
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. India Section A: Physical Sciences 2016, 86, 561, (2016)
  • Acceptorless Dehydrogenation of Alcohols on a Diruthenium (II,II) Platform
    I. Dutta, A. Sarbajna, S. M. W. Rahaman and J. K. Bera
    Organometallics 2016, 35, 1505, (2016)
  • Reactivity and Catalysis at Sites Trans to the [Ru–Ru] Bond
    I. Dutta, G. Sengupta and J. K. Bera
    Topics in Organometallic Chemistry Kalck, P., Ed.; Springer International Publis..., (2016)
  • Olefin Oxygenation by Water on an Iridium Center
    T. Ghatak, M. Sarkar, S. Dinda, I. Dutta, S. M. W. Rahaman, and J. K. Bera
    J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015, 137, 6168, (2015)
  • Amide Synthesis from Alcohols and Amines Catalyzed by a RuII-N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC)-Carbonyl Complex
    B. Saha, G. Sengupta, A. Sarbajna, I. Dutta and J. K. Bera
    J. Organomet. Chem., 2014, 771, 124, (2014)

Education Profile

  • Ph.D., Chemistry, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India, 2018 
  • MSc, Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India, 2011
  • BSc, Chemistry, University of Burdwan, Burdwan, India, 2009

Professional Profile

  • 2019 - current: Postdoctoral Fellow, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
  • 2018 - 2019: Postdoctoral Fellow, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan 

KAUST Affiliations


KAUST Catalysis Center(KCC)

Division of Physical Science and Engineering(PSE)