Prakash Kumar Sahoo

@nitrr.ac.in

Assistant Professor (Temporary)
National Institute of Technology, Raipur

Prakash Kumar Sahoo


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https://researchid.co/prakashrs99
Dr. Prakash Kumar Sahoo is a synthetic organic chemist specializing in photocatalysis and sustainable chemical transformations. He is currently a faculty member at NIT Raipur, India, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate chemistry courses. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where his research focused on homogeneous and heterogeneous photoredox catalysis for late-stage functionalization of organic molecules.

He has published in leading journals including JACS, Angewandte Chemie, and Green Chemistry. His research interests include C–H functionalization, metal-free catalysis, and green synthetic methodologies, with a focus on developing sustainable approaches for complex molecule synthesis.

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy | University of Antwerp (UA), Belgium
NOVEMBER 2019 – OCTOBER 2023
Integrated Master of Science | National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, India
JULY 2013 – JULY 2018
CGPA – 8.28/10

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Organic Chemistry, Catalysis, Materials Chemistry
10

Scopus Publications

424

Scholar Citations

9

Scholar h-index

9

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Late-Stage Functionalization: A Sustainable Frontier for Complex Molecule Synthesis
    Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Shoubhik Das
    Chemsuschem, 2026
    Late‐stage functionalization (LSF) enables the direct, site‐selective modification of complex molecules and has become a key strategy in sustainable drug discovery and chemical biology. While homogeneous photocatalysis has traditionally dominated this field, recent advances in materials engineering and catalyst design have triggered a new interest in heterogeneous photocatalysis. Although classical heterogeneous photocatalysts such as metal oxides and carbon nitrides are long established, their nanoscale re‐engineering and integration into LSF have only recently enabled enhanced reactivity, selectivity, and recyclability. This review surveys the recent evolution of heterogeneous photocatalytic systems, from traditional semiconductors to covalent organic frameworks and metal–organic frameworks, for selective LSF. By connecting developments in materials chemistry with photoredox catalysis, this contribution highlights the growing potential of heterogeneous photocatalysts as scalable and sustainable platforms for complex molecule synthesis.
  • An Atomically Dispersed Mn Photocatalyst for Vicinal Dichlorination of Nonactivated Alkenes
    Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Rakesh Maiti, Peng Ren, Juan José Delgado Jaén, Xingchao Dai, Giovanni Barcaro, Susanna Monti, Alina Skorynina, Anna Rokicińska, Aleksander Jaworski, Laura Simonelli, Piotr Kuśtrowski, Jabor Rabeah, Shoubhik Das
    Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025
    A novel Mn-based single-atom photocatalyst is disclosed in this study, designed for the dichlorination of alkenes to achieve vicinal dichlorinated products using N-chlorosuccinimide as a mild chlorinating agent, which have widespread applications as pest controlling agents, polymers, flame retardants, and pharmaceuticals. In developing this innovative catalyst, we achieved the atomic dispersion of Mn on aryl-amino-substituted graphitic carbon nitride (f-C3N4). This marks the first instance of a heterogeneous version, offering an operationally simple, sustainable, and efficient pathway for dichlorination of alkenes, including drugs, bioactive compounds, and natural products. This material was extensively characterized by using techniques such as UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), magic-angle spinning (MAS), and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy to understand it at the atomic level. Furthermore, mechanistic studies based on multiscale molecular modeling, combining classical reactive molecular dynamics (RMD) simulations and quantum chemistry (QC) calculations, illustrated that the controlled formation of Cl radicals from the in situ formed Mn–Cl bond is responsible for the dichlorination reaction of alkenes. In addition, gram-scale and reusability tests were also performed to demonstrate the applicability of this approach on an industrial scale.
  • Selective synthesis of functionalized linear aliphatic primary amines via decarboxylative radical-polar crossover
    Robin Cauwenbergh, Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Rakesh Maiti, Abra Mathew, Rositha Kuniyil, Shoubhik Das
    Green Chemistry, 2023
    Organic photoredox-driven generation of distant primary radicals for the hydroaminoalkylation of styrenes or Michael acceptors, yielding linear aliphatic primary amines, including late-stage functionalisation and total synthesis of drug compounds.
  • Robust late-stage benzylic C(sp3)–H aminations by using transition metal-free photoredox catalysis
    Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Yu Zhang, Yuman Qin, Peng Ren, Robin Cauwenbergh, Gandhi Siva Raman, Shoubhik Das
    Journal of Catalysis, 2023
  • Transition metal-free approach for late-stage benzylic C(sp3)–H etherifications and esterifications
    Yu Zhang, Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Peng Ren, Yuman Qin, Robin Cauwenbergh, Philippe Nimmegeers, Gandhi SivaRaman, Steven Van Passel, Andrea Guidetti, Shoubhik Das
    Chemical Communications, 2022
    Herein, we report a transition metal-free approach for the regioselective functionalisation of benzylic C(sp3)–H bonds using alcohols and carboxylic acids as the nucleophiles. Late stage functionalization has been done with complex drug molecules.
  • Direct Solar Energy-Mediated Synthesis of Tertiary Benzylic Alcohols Using a Metal-Free Heterogeneous Photocatalyst
    Yu Zhang, Shaowei Qin, Nathalie Claes, Waldemar Schilling, Prakash Kumar Sahoo, H. Y. Vincent Ching, Aleksander Jaworski, Filip Lemière, Adam Slabon, Sabine Van Doorslaer, Sara Bals, Shoubhik Das
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 2022
    Direct hydroxylation via the functionalization of tertiary benzylic C(sp3)–H bonds is of great significance for obtaining tertiary alcohols, which find wide applications in pharmaceuticals as well as in fine chemical industries. However, current synthetic procedures use toxic reagents, and therefore, the development of a sustainable strategy for the synthesis of tertiary benzylic alcohols is highly desirable. To solve this problem, herein, we report a metal-free heterogeneous photocatalyst to synthesize the hydroxylated products using oxygen as the key reagent. Various benzylic substrates were employed into our mild reaction conditions to afford the desirable products in good to excellent yields. More importantly, the gram-scale reaction was achieved via harvesting direct solar energy and exhibited high quantity of the product. The high stability of the catalyst was proved via recycling the catalyst and spectroscopic analyses. Finally, a possible mechanism was proposed based on electron paramagnetic resonance and other experimental evidence.
  • CO2-promoted reactions: An emerging concept for the synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals
    Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Yu Zhang, Shoubhik Das
    ACS Catalysis, 2021
    Carbon dioxide is a nontoxic and abundant chemical and has been widely used as a C1 building block for the synthesis of highly important chemicals. This greenhouse gas also has the ability to trigger changes in the chemical properties of certain chemicals without being incorporated into the product. CO2 as a promoter/mediator/catalyst can potentially replace toxic reagents that are used in the fine chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. Furthermore, CO2 is nonhazardous and enables easy isolation of the products and the respective catalysts, which in turn could make it suitable for industrial applications. Therefore, this Perspective is intended to address CO2-promoted reactions that can lead to the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and important molecules.
  • Oxidative Transformation of Biomass into Formic Acid
    Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Tong Zhang, Shoubhik Das
    European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2021
    Formic acid (FA) is well‐known as a promising hydrogen source as well as a valuable chemical for the industries of textiles, pharmaceuticals etc. In fact, 1.137 million metric tons of FA is required worldwide per year to meet the current demand. Therefore, there is a strong interest for the generation of FA in a sustainable way to meet the future demand. Inspired by this information, several strategies have been considered for the sustainable synthesis of FA. Herein, we summarise the recent articles for the oxidative transformation of biomass into FA.
  • Nature inspired singlet oxygen generation to access α-amino carbonyl compounds: Via 1,2-acyl migration
    Waldemar Schilling, Yu Zhang, Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Samir Kumar Sarkar, Sivaraman Gandhi, Herbert W. Roesky, Shoubhik Das
    Green Chemistry, 2021
    We have discovered chlorophyll catalyzed 1,2-acyl migration reactions to achieve α-amino carbonyl compounds directly from the enaminones.
  • Iron-catalyzed selective etherification and transetherification reactions using alcohols
    Prakash Kumar Sahoo, Suhas Shahaji Gawali, Chidambaram Gunanathan
    ACS Omega, 2018
    Simple and readily available iron(III) triflate turned out to be a cheap, environmentally benign, and efficient catalyst for the direct etherification of alcohols. The use of ammonium chloride as an additive (5 mol %, 1 equiv relative to catalyst) suppressed the side reactions completely and ensured the selective ether formation even on challenging substrates containing electron-donating substituents. This method allows the selective synthesis of symmetrical ethers from benzylic secondary alcohols and unsymmetrical ethers directly from secondary and primary alcohols. Moreover, transetherification of symmetrical ethers using primary alcohols is attained. The reaction progress of symmetrical ether and unsymmetrical ether formation followed zero-order and first-order kinetics, respectively. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements of the reaction mixture and simple iron(III) triflate clearly indicated that oxidation state of the metal center remains same throughout the catalysis. Mechanistic studies confirmed that the unsymmetrical ether formation occurs via the in situ formed symmetrical ethers.

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Late‐Stage Functionalization: A Sustainable Frontier for Complex Molecule Synthesis
    PK Sahoo, S Das
    ChemSusChem 19 (1), e202502495 , 2026
    2026
    Citations: 2
  • An atomically dispersed Mn photocatalyst for vicinal dichlorination of nonactivated alkenes
    PK Sahoo, R Maiti, P Ren, JJ Delgado Jaén, X Dai, G Barcaro, S Monti, ...
    Journal of the American Chemical Society 147 (14), 11829-11840 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 23
  • A Covalent Triazine Framework for Photocatalytic Anti‐Markovnikov Hydrofunctionalizations
    R Maiti, J Chakraborty, P Kumar Sahoo, I Nath, X Dai, J Rabeah, ...
    Angewandte Chemie 136 (52), e202415624 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 19
  • Selective synthesis of functionalized linear aliphatic primary amines via decarboxylative radical-polar crossover
    R Cauwenbergh, PK Sahoo, R Maiti, A Mathew, R Kuniyil, S Das
    Green Chemistry 26 (1), 264-276 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 9
  • Robust late-stage benzylic C (sp3)–H aminations by using transition metal-free photoredox catalysis
    PK Sahoo, Y Zhang, Y Qin, P Ren, R Cauwenbergh, GS Raman, S Das
    Journal of Catalysis 425, 80-88 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 21
  • Applications of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Photocatalysts for Late-stage Transformations of Organic Molecules: Proefschrift
    PK Sahoo
    2023
  • Applications of homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalysts for late-stage transformations of organic molecules
    PK Sahoo
    University of Antwerp , 2023
    2023
  • Selective Synthesis of Functionalised Linear Aliphatic Primary Amines Using Photoredox Catalysis
    R Cauwenbergh, P Sahoo, R Maiti, A Guidetti, S Das
    2022
  • Transition metal-free approach for late-stage benzylic C (sp 3)–H etherifications and esterifications
    Y Zhang, PK Sahoo, P Ren, Y Qin, R Cauwenbergh, P Nimmegeers, ...
    Chemical Communications 58 (81), 11454-11457 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 29
  • Direct solar energy-mediated synthesis of tertiary benzylic alcohols using a metal-free heterogeneous photocatalyst
    Y Zhang, S Qin, N Claes, W Schilling, PK Sahoo, HYV Ching, A Jaworski, ...
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 10 (1), 530-540 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 36
  • Oxidative transformation of biomass into formic acid
    PK Sahoo, T Zhang, S Das
    European Journal of Organic Chemistry 2021 (9), 1331-1343 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 33
  • CO 2 -Promoted Reactions: An Emerging Concept for the Synthesis of Fine Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
    PK Sahoo, Y Zhang, S Das
    ACS Catalysis 11 (6), 3414-3442 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 138
  • Nature inspired singlet oxygen generation to access α-amino carbonyl compounds via 1, 2-acyl migration
    W Schilling, Y Zhang, PK Sahoo, SK Sarkar, S Gandhi, HW Roesky, ...
    Green Chemistry 23 (1), 379-387 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 60
  • Iron-catalyzed selective etherification and transetherification reactions using alcohols
    PK Sahoo, SS Gawali, C Gunanathan
    ACS omega 3 (1), 124-136 , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 54

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • CO 2 -Promoted Reactions: An Emerging Concept for the Synthesis of Fine Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
    PK Sahoo, Y Zhang, S Das
    ACS Catalysis 11 (6), 3414-3442 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 138
  • Nature inspired singlet oxygen generation to access α-amino carbonyl compounds via 1, 2-acyl migration
    W Schilling, Y Zhang, PK Sahoo, SK Sarkar, S Gandhi, HW Roesky, ...
    Green Chemistry 23 (1), 379-387 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 60
  • Iron-catalyzed selective etherification and transetherification reactions using alcohols
    PK Sahoo, SS Gawali, C Gunanathan
    ACS omega 3 (1), 124-136 , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 54
  • Direct solar energy-mediated synthesis of tertiary benzylic alcohols using a metal-free heterogeneous photocatalyst
    Y Zhang, S Qin, N Claes, W Schilling, PK Sahoo, HYV Ching, A Jaworski, ...
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 10 (1), 530-540 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 36
  • Oxidative transformation of biomass into formic acid
    PK Sahoo, T Zhang, S Das
    European Journal of Organic Chemistry 2021 (9), 1331-1343 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 33
  • Transition metal-free approach for late-stage benzylic C (sp 3)–H etherifications and esterifications
    Y Zhang, PK Sahoo, P Ren, Y Qin, R Cauwenbergh, P Nimmegeers, ...
    Chemical Communications 58 (81), 11454-11457 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 29
  • An atomically dispersed Mn photocatalyst for vicinal dichlorination of nonactivated alkenes
    PK Sahoo, R Maiti, P Ren, JJ Delgado Jaén, X Dai, G Barcaro, S Monti, ...
    Journal of the American Chemical Society 147 (14), 11829-11840 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 23
  • Robust late-stage benzylic C (sp3)–H aminations by using transition metal-free photoredox catalysis
    PK Sahoo, Y Zhang, Y Qin, P Ren, R Cauwenbergh, GS Raman, S Das
    Journal of Catalysis 425, 80-88 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 21
  • A Covalent Triazine Framework for Photocatalytic Anti‐Markovnikov Hydrofunctionalizations
    R Maiti, J Chakraborty, P Kumar Sahoo, I Nath, X Dai, J Rabeah, ...
    Angewandte Chemie 136 (52), e202415624 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 19
  • Selective synthesis of functionalized linear aliphatic primary amines via decarboxylative radical-polar crossover
    R Cauwenbergh, PK Sahoo, R Maiti, A Mathew, R Kuniyil, S Das
    Green Chemistry 26 (1), 264-276 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 9
  • Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Late‐Stage Functionalization: A Sustainable Frontier for Complex Molecule Synthesis
    PK Sahoo, S Das
    ChemSusChem 19 (1), e202502495 , 2026
    2026
    Citations: 2
  • Applications of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Photocatalysts for Late-stage Transformations of Organic Molecules: Proefschrift
    PK Sahoo
    2023
  • Applications of homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalysts for late-stage transformations of organic molecules
    PK Sahoo
    University of Antwerp , 2023
    2023
  • Selective Synthesis of Functionalised Linear Aliphatic Primary Amines Using Photoredox Catalysis
    R Cauwenbergh, P Sahoo, R Maiti, A Guidetti, S Das
    2022