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Department of Chemistry (K254)
Northwestern University
2145 Sheridan Road,
Evanston, IL 60208
ABHISHEK BANERJEE
Email: toabhi12@gmail.com,
abhishek.banerjee@northwestern.edu,
Office Ph: 847-467-6135/6125;
Cell Ph: 773-886-2420
ACADEMIC PROFILE
Postdoctoral Research Scholar (PI: Prof. Mercouri G. Kanatzidis) June 2012 - Present
Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Area of research: Catalysis and Storage
Research Topics: 1] Photo- and electrocatalytic studies on proton, nitrogen- and carbon dioxide-
reduction, using biomimetic chalcogenide-aerogels as catalysts; 2] Synthesis of Chalcogenide
aerogels for sorption and separation.
Ph.D (Chemistry, Prof. Ulrich Kortz, Prof. Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler) December 2011
School of Engineering and Sciences, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany
Thesis Title: Synthesis, Structure and Properties of Diphosphonate-based Polyoxomolybdates.
Area of research: Inorganic/Organometallic Chemistry
Research Topics: 1] Effect of Fluorine on the structure and stability of Molybdo-
diphosphonates, 2] Structure and Property-directing effects of heteroatom in pyridine-based
Molybbo-diphosphonates.
M.S. (Chemistry, Advisor: Prof. S. Natarajan) July 2007
Solid State & Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Thesis Title: Novel Approaches in the Synthesis of Open-Framework Carboxylates.
Area of research: Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs).
B.Sc. (Chemistry Honors, 70.25 % & Rank 1st
in class) July 2004
St. Xavier’s College, University of Kolkata, Kolkata, India

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RESEARCH INTERESTS
 Synthesis of newer molybdate architectures.
 Heterogeneous catalytic study of organic reactions using Tungsten and Molybdenum-
polyanions.
 Energy storage: Solar cell applications of polyanions.
 Ionic Liquid applications of polyanions.
 Transition-metal based polyanions: Applications towards Magneto-optical framework
materials.
LANGUAGES
English : Fluent in Spoken and Written
Bengali : Mother tongue
Hindi : Fluent in Spoken and Written
German : Basic Knowledge
AWARDS
 Awarded ‘special distinction’ for Doctoral studies by Jacobs University, Bremen,
Germany.
 Secured 15th rank in an all India level entrance exam, Joint Admission to M.Sc. (JAM)–
2004, conducted by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
 Secured 7th rank in an all India level entrance exam, Integrated Ph.D-2004, conducted by
Indian Institute Of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
 Have qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) (for PhD in India) in the year 2006.
 Awarded the “Meera Memorial Gold Medal Award for 2004-2005” by St. Xavier’s College
for obtaining Highest Marks in the overall B.Sc. University Examination.
 Qualified for the “60th Nobel Laureate Meetings, 2010 on Multidisciplinary Topics” at
Lindau, Germany.
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
Research papers
1. Phase Transition, Conformational Exchange, and Nonlinear Optical Third Harmonic
Generation of the [P2Se8]2-
Anion
Alyssa S. Haynes, Abhishek Banerjee, Felix O. Saouma, Calford O. Otieno, Joon I. Jang,
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Chem. Mater., 10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b00551.
2. Photochemical Nitrogen Conversion to Ammonia in Ambient Conditions with FeMoS-
Chalcogels
Abhishek Banerjee, Benjamin D. Yuhas, Eric A. Margulies, Yongbo Zhang, Yurina Shim,
Michael R. Wasielewski, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015, 137, 2030-2034.

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3. Synthesis and Biological Activity of Organoantimony(III)-Containing Heteropolytungstates
Maria Barsukova-Stuckart, Luis F. Piedra-Garza, Bimersha Gautam, Gabriela Alfaro-
Espinoza, Natalya V. Izarova, Abhishek Banerjee, Bassem S. Bassil, Matthias S. Ullrich,
Hans J. Breunig, Cristian Silvestru, Ulrich Kortz, Inorg. Chem., 2012, 51, 12015−12022.
4. The Antimony(III)-Bridged Heteropolyanion Sandwich Dimers [SbIII
3(A-α-XW9O34)2]11-
(X
= SiIV
, GeIV
) and C-Shaped Double-Sandwich [SbIII
6O2(PW6O26)(A-α-PW9O34)2]15-
Awatef S. Assran, Natalya V. Izarova, Abhishek Banerjee, U. M. Rabie, M. H. M. Abou-
El-Wafa, Ulrich Kortz, Dalton Trans., 2012, 41, 10052-10059.
5. Polyoxomolybdo-diphosphonates: Examples Incorporating Ethylidene-Pyridines
Abhishek Banerjee, Farah S. Raad, Nina Vankova, Bassem S. Bassil, Thomas Heine, Ulrich
Kortz, Inorg. Chem., 2011, 50, 11667-11675.
6. Noble Metals in Polyoxometalate Chemistry: Palladium-Containing Derivatives of the
Monolacunary Keggin and Wells-Dawson Tungstophosphates
Natalya V. Izarova, Abhishek Banerjee, Ulrich Kortz, Inorg. Chem., 2011, 50, 10379–
10386.
7. Alpha and Beta Isomers of Tetrahafnium(IV) Containing Decatungstosilicates,
[Hf4(OH)6(CH3COO)2(x-SiW10O37)2]12-
(x = α, β)
Awatef S. Assran, Sib Sankar Mal, Natalya V. Izarova, Abhishek Banerjee, Andreas
Suchopar, Masahiro Sadakane, Ulrich Kortz, Dalton Trans. 2011, 40, 2920-2925.
8. Yttrium(III)-containing tungstoantimonate(III) stabilized by capping, tetrahedral WO4
2-
unit,
[{Y(a-SbW9O31(OH)2)(CH3COO)(H2O)}3(WO4)]17-
Masooma Ibrahim, Sib Sankar Mal, Bassem S. Bassil, Abhishek Banerjee, Ulrich Kortz,
Inorg. Chem. 2011, 50, 956-960.
9. Noble Metalate Bowl: The Polyoxo-6-Vanado(V)-7-Palladate(II) [Pd7V6O24(OH)2]6-
Natalya V. Izarova, Nina Vankova, Abhishek Banerjee, Geoffrey B. Jameson, Thomas
Heine, Florian Schinle, Oliver Hampe, Ulrich Kortz, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 7807-
7811.
10. Fluorine Tagging of Polyoxometalates: The cyclic [{MoV
2O4(H2O)}4{O3P-C(CF3)(O)-
PO3}4]12-
Abhishek Banerjee, Bassem S. Bassil, Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler, Ulrich Kortz, Eur. J.
Inorg. Chem. 2010, 3915-3919.
11. The Use of Liquid–Liquid Interface (Biphasic) for the Preparation of Benzenetricarboxylate
Complexes of Cobalt and Nickel.
Abhishek Banerjee, Partha Mahata, Srinivasan Natarajan, Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2008, 3501–
3514.
Review, Highlight and Perspective
1. Photocatalyst Converts Nitrogen To Ammonia

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Abhishek Banerjee, Benjamin D. Yuhas, Eric A. Margulies, Yongbo Zhang, Yurina Shim,
Michael R. Wasielewski, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Chemical & Engineering News, 2015,
93, 9.
2. Diphosphates and Diphosphonates in Polyoxometalate Chemistry
Abhishek Banerjee, Bassem S. Bassil, Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler, Ulrich Kortz, Chem.
Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 7590-7604.
Submitted
1. Dye Sensitized Photochemical Nitrogen-Fixation Catalyzed by FeMoS Biomimetic-
Chalcogels
Abhishek Banerjee, Jordan N. Nelson, Mathew S. Kelley, Jian Liu, Debajit Sarma, Yongbo
Zhang, Lin X. Chen, George C. Schatz, Michael R. Wasielewski, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis,
submitted
2. Photochemical reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia on bioinspired nitrogenase-mimic
chalcogels
Jian Liu, Abhishek Banerjee, Kevin Sterling, Alexios P. Douvalis, Jinsong Wu, Eunsuk
Kim, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, submitted
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
 “Synthesis and Structure of Bisphosphonate Based Polyoxomolybdates” (poster
presentation). International Polyoxometalate Symposium, 28 July-01 August, 2009 at
Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany.
 “Fluorine Tagging of Polyoxometalates” (poster presentation). 3rd
EuCheMS
Chemistry Congress, 29 August-2 September, 2010 in Nürnberg, Germany.
 “Fluorine Tagging of Polyoxometalates” (oral presentation) 13. Norddeutsches
Doktorandenkolloquium (NDDK), 24-25 September, 2010 at Universität Greifswald,
Greifswald, Germany.
 “Effect of Fluorine on Structure and Stability of Bisphosphonate-based
Polyoxometalates” (poster presentation) GDCh-Wissenschaftsforum Chemie 2011, 4-
7 September, 2011 in Bremen, Germany.

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REFERENCES
[1] Prof. Ulrich Kortz (PhD Advisor)
School of Engineering and Science,
Jacobs University, 28725, Bremen, Germany.
Tel: +49-421-200-3225
Fax: +49-421-200-3229
E-mail: u.kortz@jacobs-university.de
[2] Prof. Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler (PhD Advisor)
School of Engineering and Science,
Jacobs University, 28725, Bremen, Germany.
Tel: +49-421-200-3138
Fax: +49-421-200-3229
E-mail: g.roeschenthaler@jacobs-university.de
[3] Prof. Mercouri G. Kanatzidis (Postdoc Advisor)
Department of Chemistry,
2145 Sheridan Road,
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
Tel: +1-847-467-1541 Assistant +1-847-491-3947
Fax: +1-847-491-5937
Email: m-kanatzidis@northwestern.edu