Dr. Akash Kaithal
Curriculum Vitae
since 06/2021 Postdoctoral research in the group of Prof. Dr. Frank Glorius, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster 05/2020 - 05/2021 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Molecular Catalysis Division, Germany; Advisor: Prof. Dr. Walter Leitner and Dr. Christophe Werlé 10/2016 - 04/2020 Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Germany; Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Walter Leitner, Title of PhD thesis: Ruthenium(II) and Manganese(I) Catalyzed Organic Transformations via Hydrogen Transfer Reactions 11/2018 - 05/2019 Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, France; six-month exchange 06/2014 - 06/2016 Master thesis, National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, India; Advisor: Prof. Dr. Chidambaram Gunanathan, Title of Master thesis: "Ruthenium Catalyzed Hydroboration Reactions" 06/2011 - 06/2016 Integrated M.Sc. (First Class), National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, India 05/2014 - 07/2014 Research Project, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, India; Advisor: Dr. G. V. Madhava Sharma, Synthesis of structural analog of Rolipram 05/2013 - 07/2013 Research Project, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India; Advisor: Prof. Jitendra Kumar Bera, Synthesis and characterization of Napthyridine-based tetra-dentate Ligands 05/2012 - 07/2012 Research Project, National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, India; Advisor: Dr. Sanjib Kar, Synthesis and characterization of Silver Corrole Complexes Awards and Scholarships
2020 "Ernst-Haage Prize" Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Award 2020 2020 Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Honors: "Summa cum Laude" 10/2016 - 10/2019 Erasmus+ (the European Doctoral Programme on Sustainable Industrial Chemistry (SINCHEM)) Scholarship for Doctoral Studies 06/2011 - 06/2016 Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Scholarship for Integrated Master of Science 06/2011 - 06/2016 Gas Authority of India Limited Scholarship (GAIL) for Integrated Master of Science 04/2010 - 04/2011 Student of Super-30 Kanpur, India Publications
A. Kaithal, T. Wagener, P. Bellotti, C. G. Daniliuc, L. Schlichter, F. Glorius,
Access to Unexplored 3D Chemical Space: cis-Selective AreneHydrogenation for the Synthesis of Saturated Cyclic Boronic Acids,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, Early View. DOIA. Kaithal, B. Chatterjee, C. Werle, W. Leitner,*
Acceptorless Dehydrogenation of Methanol to Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen using Molecular Catalysts,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 26500-26505.
Selected as a Hot PaperA. Kaithal, C. Werlé, W. Leitner,
Alcohol-assisted Hydrogenation of Carbon Monoxide to Methanol Using Molecular Manganese Catalysts,
JACS Au 2021, 1, 130-136.
"Selected as a cover feature in Issue 2, Volume 1, and Number 2".A. Kaithal, M. Hölscher, W. Leitner,
Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen (Syngas) as C1-Building Block for Selective Catalytic Methylation,
Chem. Sci. 2021, 12, 976-982.A. Kaithal, D. Kalsi, V. Krishnakumar, S. Pattanaik, A. Bordet, W. Leitner, C. Gunanathan,
Ruthenium-Catalyzed Selective Hydroboronolysis of Ethers,
ACS Catal. 2020, 10, 14390-14397.B. Chatterjee, D. Kalsi, A. Kaithal, A. Bordet, W. Leitner, C. Gunanathan,
One-Pot Dual Catalysis for the Hydrogenation of Heteroarenes and Arenes,
Catal. Sci. Technol. 2020, 10, 5163-5170.A. Kaithal, P. van Bonn, M. Hölscher, W. Leitner,
Manganese (I)-Catalyzed β‐Methylation of Alcohols using Methanol as C1 source,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 215-220.A. Kaithal, M. Schmitz, M. Hölscher, W. Leitner,
On the mechanism of the Ruthenium-catalyzed β‐Methylation of Alcohols with Methanol,
ChemCatChem. 2020, 12, 781-787.
Published in a special issue: Pincer Chemistry and Catalysis.A. Kaithal, L. L. Gracia, C. Camp, E. A. Quadrelli, W. Leitner,
Direct Synthesis of Cycloalkanes from Diols and Secondary Alcohols or Ketones Using a Homogeneous Manganese Catalyst,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 17487-1749.
Selected as a front cover feature in Issue 44, Volume 141, and Number 44.A. Kaithal, M. Schmitz, M. Hölscher, W. Leitner,
Ruthenium(II)‐Catalyzed β‐Methylation of Alcohols using Methanol as C1 Source,
ChemCatChem. 2019, 11, 5287-5291.
Published in a special issue: New Concepts in Homogeneous catalysis.A. Kaithal,‡ S. Sen,‡ C. Erken,‡ T.Weyhermüller, M. Hölscher, C. Werlé, W. Leitner,
Manganese-catalyzed hydroboration of carbon dioxide and other challenging carbonyl groups,
Nat. Commun. 2018, 9, 4521. (‡Equal contribution)A. Kaithal, M. Hölscher, W. Leitner,
Catalytic Hydrogenation of Cyclic Carbonates using Manganese Complexes,
Angew.Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 13449-13453.A. Kaithal,† B. Chatterjee,† C. Gunanathan,
Ruthenium-Catalyzed Selective Hydroboration of Nitriles and Imines,
Org. Chem. 2016, 81, 11153-11161. (†Equal contribution)
Highlights: Synfacts 2017, 13, 0078.A. Kaithal,† B. Chatterjee,† C. Gunanathan,
Ruthenium- Catalyzed Regioselective 1,4-Hydroboration of Pyridines,
Org. Lett. 2016, 18, 3402-3405. (†Equal Contribution)
Highlights: Synfacts 2016, 12, 0956.A. Kaithal,† B.Chatterjee,† C. Gunanathan,
Ruthenium Catalyzed Selective Hydroboration of Carbonyl Compounds,
Org. Lett. 2015, 17, 4790-4793. (†Equal contribution)Conferences and Schools Attended
• Kopernikus P2X Project meeting via online platform, Germany. 02 – 03 Feb 2021 (Talk).
• Europacat conference at RWTH Aachen University. 18 – 22 Aug 2019 (Poster presentation).
• Gordon research Organometallic conference at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, USA. 7 – 12 Jul 2019 (Poster presentation).
• SINCHEM autumn School at University of Nottingham. 28 – 30 Nov 2018, "Catalytic Hydrogenation of Cyclic Carbonates using Manganese Complexes:" (Talk)
• Gordon research seminar and Gordon research conference at Rey Don Jaime Grand Hotel in Castelldefels, Spain. 28 Jul – 3 Aug 2018 (Poster presentation).
• 51. Jahrestreffen Deutscher Katalytiker, Weimar. 14 – 16 Mar 2018 (Poster presentation).
• SINCHEM & PHOTOTRAIN Winter School, Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale, Feb, 12 – 16, 2018.
• Autumn School of Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate, SINCHEM, Politecnico di Torino, 22 – 24 Nov 2017; "Utilization of CO2 and MeOH as a C1 Source: Hydrocarboxylation and β-Methylation of Alcohols" (Talk).
• SINCHEM Winter school, RWTH Aachen University, 1 – 2 Feb 2017; "CO2 as a C1 Building Block in the Catalytic Synthesis of Carboxylic Acids" (Talk).
• 11th J-NOST Conference at School of Chemical Sciences, NISER, Bhubaneswar, India, 14 – 17 Dec 2015, (Poster Presentation).
Teaching and Supervision Experience
Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen-52074, Germany:
• Teaching Assistant (2016 - 2020), Course: Biocatalysis Lab
• Supervision: two master's and two research students.
Other Skills
Laboratory and Instrumentation Skills NMR, Mass Spectrometry, IR, UV-Vis, Standard Schlenk Techniques, Preparative TLC, HPLC, GC Column Chromatography, Glovebox, High-pressure Parr Reactor, Single Crystal XRD, Cyclic Voltammetry. Computer Skills • Software Tools – Gaussian, ChemBioDraw, Origin, Mercury, Olex, Shelxl, Graph, Scifinder, MestreNova, Endnote, MS Office and Mac tools
• Operating Systems – Windows, MacLanguage Skills English (Fluent), Hindi (Mother Tongue), German (Intermediate) Personal Interests Cricket, Drawing, Bowling, Music