Laksmikanta Adak

Academic Qualifications

Assistant Professor - Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, India (March 2019 - Present)
Assistant Professor - Sovarani Memorial College, Affiliated to University of Calcutta, Howrah, India (June 2017 - March 2019)
Program-Specific Assistant Professor – Kyoto University, Japan (April 2016 - April 2017)
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow - Kyoto University, Japan (September 2014 - March 2016)
JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Kyoto University, Japan (September 2012 - August 2014)
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow - Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (January 2010 - May 2012)
Ph.D. in Science - Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (degree obtained from Jadavpur University), Kolkata, India, 2010
M.Sc. (Organic Chemistry Special) - Vidyasagar University, India, 2005 [qualified GATE, NET-CSIR and placed among top 20%]
B.Sc. (Chemistry Honours) – from Midnapore College, affiliated to Vidyasagar University, India, 2003 (Gold Medalist)

1 Saha, A.; Roy, K.; Kundu, P.; Pal, P.; Gupta,R.D.; Mukhopadhyay,C.D.; Adak, L., Copper(I)-Catalyzed Amide Oxazoline-Directed, Atom-Economic C-H Selenylation of (Hetero)Arenes under External Oxidant-Free Conditions, 28, 1127-1133, Org. Lett., 2026

2 Mondal, S.; Ghara, S.; Azad, S. A.; Barik, P.; Sen, P.; Sepay, N.; Patra, P.; Adak, L.; Mahanta, S.; Samanta, S., Directing group-assisted C–H functionalization of 2-arylbenzo[f]isoquinoline: a robust route to decumbenine B analogues with photophysical applications, 16, 1310–1321, RSC Adv., 2026

3 Roy, K.; Saha, A.; Mondal, S.; Adak, L., Copper-Iron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of ortho-Substituted Sulfonamides with Sterically Hindered (Hetero)aryl Chlorides and Alkyl Halides: Synthesis of Sulfonamide Drugs, 28, 32-38, Org. Lett., 2026

4 Anchal, K.; Roy, K.; Adak, L.; Banerjee, S., Nano-NiCo2O4-catalyzed dehydrogenative direct esterification and amidation of primary alcohols under microwave conditions, 16, 3725-3734, RSC Adv., 2026

5 Sahoo, S.; Mandal, A.; Patra, A.; Adak, L., Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling of 2,4-Dienoic Acids and Aryl Halides: Access to Fluorescence Active (E,E)?1,4- Diarylbutadienes, 90, 14027-14038, J. Org. Chem., 2025

6 Mondal, S.; Roy, K.; Pramanik, P.; Sahoo, S.; Kundu, P.; Saha, A.; Mondal, R.; Adak, L., Sustainable Mn-Assisted Cu-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Primary Amides and Sulfonamides with (Hetero)Aryl and Styryl Halides: Investigating a Novel Catalytically Active Species, 20, e00764, Chem Asian J., 2025

7 Roy, K., Saha, A., Saha, B., Banerjee, S., Mukhopadhyay,C.D., Sahu,S.K., Adak, L., Reusable Iron-Copper Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Primary Amides with Aryl and Alkyl Halides: Access to N-Arylamides as Potential Antibacterial and Anticancer Agents, 31, e202403649, Chem. Eur. J., 2025

8 Saha, A., Roy, K., Mondal, S., Saha, B., Sumar, J., Sahu, S. K., Adak, L., Reusable cobalt–copper-catalyzed cross-coupling of (hetero) aryl halides with primary amides under air: investigating a new Co0/CoII-based catalytic cycle, 23, 5343-5351, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2025

9 Panja, S.; Paul,B.; Saha, A.; Roy, K.; Nandi, C.; Majhi, B.; Adak, L.; Ranu,B.C., Ruthenium-Catalyzed Site-Selective Annulation of Benzoxazinones: An Easy Access to Dihydroisoquinoline Benzamide Derivatives, 31, e202500512, Chem. Eur. J., 2025

10 Kundu, P.; Roy, K.; Saha, A.; Mondal, S.; Adak, L., Reusable, Efficient Manganese–Copper-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Aryl Halides with Aromatic Alcohols under Solvent-Minimized Conditions, 10, e01770, ChemistrySelect, 2025

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Research Areas

Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Naturally abundant first-row transition metal catalysis (e.g., Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) and mechanistic investigation
Development of new reagents and methods for novel organic transformations
C–H bond activation/functionalization reactions, Asymmetric catalysis/synthesis
Green synthesis, heterogeneous catalysis

Teachings

PG Courses

1 Stereochemistry (CH 5103) – 1st Semester 2 Organic Chemistry Laboratory–I (CH 5172) – 1st Semester 3 Green Chemistry (CH5221) – 2nd Semester 4 Polymer Chemistry (CH5222) – 2nd Semester 5 Organic Chemistry Laboratory–II (CH5271) – 2nd Semester 6 Chemistry of Natural Product (Terpenoids and Steroids) (CH 6103) – 3rd Semester 7 Ph.D. Course Work (CH8105/CH8205: Modern Concepts in Organic Synthesis) - [C–H and C–F bond activation reactions, Domino/Tandem/Cascade reactions, Photoredox catalysis in organic synthesis]

UG Courses

1 Structure and Reactivity of Organic Molecules (CH 1101/CH1201 ) 2 Mechanism of Selected Organic Reactions (CH 1101/CH1201 ) 3 Spectroscopic Techniques in Organic Chemistry (UV-VIS, IR and 1H-NMR) (CH 1101/CH1201 ) 4 Polymeric Materials (CH 1101/CH1201) 5 Chemistry Laboratory (CH 1171/CH1271 )

Publications

11 Saha, A.; Roy, K.; Banerjee, S.; Panja, S.; Khatua, M.; Mukhopadhyay; C. M., Samanta, S.; Adak, L., Room temperature palladium-catalyzed synthesis of novel unsymmetrical diamide scaffolds containing moieties of ?-ketoester as potential antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer Agents, 1322, 140177, Journal of Molecular Structure, 2025

12 Roy, K.; Saha, A.; Sahoo, S.; Banerjee, Chitrangada Das Mukhopadhyay, Banerjee, S.; Adak, L., Reaction under Ball-Milling: Solvent-and Metal-Free One-Pot Diastereoselective Synthesis of Tetrahydroquinoline Derivatives as Potential Antibacterial and Anticancer Agents, 35, 2487-2495, Synlett, 2024

13 Patel,A. R.; Maity, G.; Pati, T. K.; Adak, L.; Cioffi, C. L.; Banerjee, S., Hybrid Pd0.1Cu0.9Co2O4 nano-flakes: a novel, efficient and reusable catalyst for the one-pot heck and Suzuki couplings with simultaneous transesterification reactions under microwave irradiation, 12, 1496234, Frontiers in Chemistry, 2024

14 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Mukherjee, N.; Ghosh, T., Benign-Metal-Catalyzed Carbon–Carbon and Carbon–Heteroatom Bond Formation, 34, 601-621, Synlett, 2023

15 Roy, K.; Sahoo, S.; Saha, A.; Adak, L., Ball milling in organic transformations, 27, 153-165, Curr. Org. Chem., 2023

16 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Ghosh, T., Learning Green Chemistry and its principles from Nature’s process and development of green procedures mimicking nature, 4, 127-141, Chemistry Teacher International, 2022

17 Adak, L.; Kundu, D.; Roy, K.; Saha, M.; Roy, A., Reusable Iron/Iron Oxide-Based Nanoparticles Catalyzed Organic Reactions, 26, 399-417, Curr. Org. Chem., 2022

18 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Mukherjee, N.; Ghosh, T., Benign-Metal-Catalyzed Carbon–Carbon and Carbon–Hetero¬atom Bond Formation, DOI: 10.1055/a-1904-0152, Synlett, 2022

19 Adak, L.; Jin, M.; Saito, S.; Kawabata, T.; Itoh, T.; Ito, S.; Sharma, A. K.; Isozaki, K. Nakamura, M., Iron-Catalysed Enantioselective Carbometalation of Azabicycloalkenes, 57, 6975–6978, Chem. Commun., 2021

20 Adak, L.; Hatakeyama, T.; Nakamura, M., Iron-Catalyzed Cross- Coupling Reactions Tuned by Bulky ortho-Phenylene Bisphosphine Ligands, 94, 1125–1141, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 2021

21 Adak, L.; Ghosh, T., Recent Progress in Iron-Catalyzed Reactions towards the Synthesis of Bioactive Five- and Six-Membered Heterocycles, 24, 2634-2664, Curr. Org. Chem., 2020

22 Ranu, B. C.; Ghosh, T.; Adak, L., Recent Progress on Carbon-Chalcogen Bond Formation Reaction Under Microwave Irradiation, 7, 40-49, Curr. Microwave Chem., 2020

23 Iwamoto, T.; Okuzono, C.; Adak, L.; Jin, M. Nakamura, M., Iron-Catalysed Enantioselective Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling of Racemic Alkyl Bromides, 55, 1128–1131, Chem. Commun., 2019

24 Adak, L.; Kawamura, S.; Toma, G.; Isozaki, K.; Takaya, H.; Orita, A.; Li, H. C.; Nakamura, M., Synthesis of Aryl C-Glycosides via Iron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Halosugars: Stereoselective Anomeric Arylation of Glycosyl Radicals, 139, 10693– 10701, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017

25 Sharma, A. K.; Sameera, W. M. C.; Jin, M.; Adak, L.; Okuzono, C.; Iwamoto, T.; Kato, M.; Nakamura, M.; Morokuma, K., DFT and AFIR Study on the Mechanism and the Origin of Enantioselectivity in Iron- Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions, 139, 16117– 16125, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017

26 Jin, M.; Adak, L.; Nakamura, M., Iron-Catalyzed Enantioselective Coupling of ?-Chloroesters, 11, 0861-0861, Synfacts, 2015

27 Jin, M.; Adak, L.; Nakamura, M., Iron-Catalyzed Enantioselective Cross- Coupling Reactions of ?- Chloroesters with Aryl Grignard Reagents, 137, 7128– 7134, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015

28 Takaya, H.; Nakajima, S.; Nakagawa, N.; Isozaki, K.; Imayoshi, R.; Gower, N. J.; Adak, L.; Hatakeyama, T.; Honma, T.; Nagashima, H.; Nakamura, M., Investigation of Organoiron Catalysis in Kumada–Tamao–Corriu-Type Cross-Coupling Reaction Assisted by Solution-Phase X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, 88, 410– 418, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 2015

29 Adak, L.; Yoshikai, N., Iron-Catalyzed Annulation Reaction of Arylindium Reagents and Alkynes to Produce Substituted Naphthalenes, 68, 5167– 5171, Tetrahedron, 2012

30 Saha, D.; Adak, L. ; Ranu, B. C., Hydroxyapatite-Supported Cu(I)-Catalysed Cyanation of Styrenyl Bromides with K4[Fe(CN)6]: an Easy Access to Cinnamonitriles, 10, 952– 957, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2012

31 Banerjee, S.; Adak, L.; Ranu, B. C., Ionic Liquid/PPh3 Promoted Cleavage of Diphenyl Disulfide and Diselenide: A Straight–Forward One-Pot Route to the Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Sulfides and Selenides, 53, 2149– 2152, Tetrahedron Lett., 2012

32 Adak, L.; Yoshikai, N., Cobalt-Catalyzed Preparation of Arylindium Reagents from Aryl and Heteroaryl Bromides, 76, 7563– 7568, J. Org. Chem., 2011

33 Adak, L.; Chan, W. C.; Yoshikai, N., Nickel-Catalyzed, Directing Group-Assisted [2+2+2] Cycloaddition of Imine and Alkynes, 6, 359– 362, Chem. Asian J., 2011

34 Adak, L.; Bhadra, S.; Chattopadhyay, K.; Ranu, B. C., Amphiphilic Allylation of Activated Alkenes by Allyl Acetates and Allylstannanes Catalyzed by Palladium Nanoparticles, 35, 430– 437, New J. Chem., 2011

35 Bhadra, S.; Adak, L.; Samanta, S.; Islam, A. K. M. M.; Mukherjee, M.; Ranu, B. C., Synthesis of Oxazines and Dioxanes from Aziridines and Epoxides, 3, 0339-0339, Synfacts, 2011

36 Bhadra, S.; Adak, L. ; Samanta, S.; Islam, A. K. M. M.; Mukherjee, M.; Ranu, B. C., Alumina-Supported Cu (II), A Versatile and Recyclable Catalyst for Regioselective Ring Opening of Aziridines and Epoxides and Subsequent Cyclization to Functionalized 1,4-Benzoxazines and 1,4- Benzodioxanes, 75, 8533– 8541, J. Org. Chem., 2010

37 Adak, L.; Bhadra, S.; Ranu, B. C., Palladium (0) Nanoparticle– Catalyzed sp2 C–H Activation: A Convenient Route to Alkyl–Aryl Ketones by Direct Acylation of Aryl Bromides and Iodides with Aldehydes, 51, 3811– 3814, Tetrahedron Lett., 2010

38 Saha, D.; Adak, L.; Ranu, B. C., Palladium(0) Nanoparticles- Catalyzed Ligand–free Direct Arylation of Benzothiazoles via C-H Bond Functionalization, 51, 5624– 5627, Tetrahedron Lett., 2010

39 Adak, L.; Chattopadhyay, K.; Ranu, B. C., Palladium Nanoparticles– Catalyzed C–N Bond Formation. A Highly Regio–and Stereoselective Allylic Amination by Allyl Acetates, 74, 3982– 3985, J. Org. Chem., 2009

40 Adak, L.; Chattopadhyay, K.; Ranu, B. C., C—N Bond Formation with Palladium Nanoparticles, 8, 0937-0937, Synfacts, 2009

41 Ranu, B. C.; Chatopadhyay, K.; Adak, L.; Saha, A.; Bhadra, S.; Saha, D.; Dey, R., Metal Nanoparticles as Efficient Catalysts for Organic Reactions, 81, 2337– 2354, Pure Appl. Chem., 2009

42 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Chattopadhyay, K., Hydroxyapatite–Supported Palladium–Catalyzed Efficient Synthesis of (E)-2- Alkene-4-ynecarboxylic Esters, Intense Fluorescence Emission of Selected Compounds, 73, 5609– 5612, J. Org. Chem., 2008

43 Samanta, S.; Adak, L.; Jana, R.; Mostafa, G.; Tunonen, H. M.; Ranu, B. C.; Goswami, S., Oxidative ortho-C–N Fusion of Aniline by OsO4. Isolation, Characterization of Oxo–Amido Osmium(VI) Complexs, and their Catalytic Activities for Oxidative C–C Bond Cleavage of Unsaturated Hydrocarbons, 47, 11062– 11070, Inorg. Chem., 2008

44 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Banerjee, S., Ionic Liquid Promoted Interrupted Feist–Benary Reaction with High Diastereoselectivity, 49, 4613– 4617, Tetrahedron Lett., 2008

45 Ranu, B. C.; Bhadra, S.; Adak, L., Indium (III) Chloride- Catalyzed Oxidative Cleavage of Carbon-Carbon Multiple Bonds by tert-Butyl Hydroperoxide in Water a Safer Alternative to Ozonolysis, 49, 2588– 2591, Tetrahedron Lett., 2008

46 Ranu, B. C.; Chattopadhyay, K.; Adak, L., Solvent-Controlled Highly Selective Bis– and Monoallylation of Active Methylene Compounds by Allyl Acetate with Palladium(0)Nanoparticle, 9, 4595– 4598, Org. Lett., 2007

47 Ranu, B. C.; Banerjee, S.; Adak, L., Regioselective Cross– Coupling of Allylindium Reagents with Activated Benzylic Bromides-A Simple and Efficient Procedure for the Synthesis of Terminal Alkenes, 48, 7374– 7379, Tetrahedron Lett., 2007

48 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Banerjee, S., Halogenation of Carbonyl Compounds by an Ionic Liquid, [AcMIm]X, and Ceric Ammonium Nitrate (CAN), 60, 358– 362, Aust. J. Chem., 2007

49 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Banerjee, S., Efficient Regio– and Stereo– Selective Cleavage of Aziridines and Epoxides using an Ionic Liquid as Reagent and Reaction Medium, 85, 366–371, Can. J. Chem., 2007

1 Ranu, B. C.; Chattopadhyay, K.; Saha, A.; Adak, L.; Jana, R.; Bhadra, S.; Dey, R.; Saha, D., Potential of Metal Nanoparticles in Organic Reactions, 106, 12003–, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2008

1 Adak, L.; Ghosh, T.; Ranu, B. C., C–C Bond Formation in Water Through Cross Dehydrogenative Coupling (Science of Synthesis Reference Library: Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling, edited by D. Maiti), Thieme, Stuttgart, Germany405-437, , 2023

2 Adak, L.; Sahoo, S.; Aoki, S.; Kawanaka, Y.; Nakamura, M., Iron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Alkyl Electrophiles ( Science of Synthesis, Base-Metal Catalysis 2), Thieme, Stuttgart, Germany391-434, , 2023

3 Ranu, B. C.; Adak, L.; Mukherjee, N.; Ghosh, T., Magnetic metal nanoparticle-catalyzed carbon-heteroatom bond formation and synthesis of related heterocycles (Magnetic Nanocatalysis Book, Synthetic Applications; ed, R. Varma and B. Banerjee), De Gruyter, Germanyhttps://doi.org/10.1515/9783110730357-001, , 2022

4 Ranu, B. C.; Ghosh, T.; Adak, L.; Panja, S., Selenophenes. (Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry IV, Vol-3, Editors-in-Chief: Black, D. StC; Cossy, J.; Stevens, C. V.), Oxford: Elsevier Publications,3, 653-674, , 2022

5 Ranu, B. C.; Ghosh, T.; Adak, L., Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Bioactive Five- and Six-Membered Heterocycles Catalyzed by Heterogeneous Metal Catalysts, (Green Synthetic Approaches for Biologically Relevant Heterocycles Book, Vol-2. Green Catalytic Systems and Solvents, 2nd edn, Ed. G. Bramhachari), Elsevier Publications2, 11–51, , 2021

Patents

#	Patents	Year

Member

LIFE MEMBERSHIP of INDIAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Responsibilities

Projects

Dual Transition Metal Catalysis for C-C and C-heteroatom Bond Forming Reactions:, Sponsored
Completed
Synthesis of Iron Complexes and Their Catalytic Role in 1,4-Addition Reactions of Organoboron Reagents to alpha,beta-Unsaturated Carbonyl and Related Compounds, Sponsored
Completed

Awards

Awarded with Prize for Best Poster Presentation from Asutosh College, Kolkata in association with Indian Chemical Society, Year: 2017
The MEXT project “Integrated Research on Chemical Synthesis” Research Fellowship from Kyoto University, Japan, Year: 2014
JSPS Post-doctoral Research Fellowship from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Government of Japan, Year: 2012
Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India, Year: 2007
Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), Year: 2005
Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India, Year: 2005
Awarded University Gold Medal, Year: 2003
Awarded National Scholarship, Year: 2001