Education

B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, India 2011
M.Sc. Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, India 2013
Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, Iowa State University, USA 2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland 2021-2023

NMR spectroscopy of Materials

The Venkatesh group develops nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to enable the rational design of materials applied in energy and health sciences. We are particularly interested in developing solid-state NMR tools to enable the structure determination of catalysts, energy materials and pharmaceuticals. An improved understanding of atomic-level structure will guide the development of structure-property relationships and rational design of materials with improved properties.

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is a powerful technique to elucidate atomic-level structure and probe bonding and non-bonding interactions. Our group develops powerful sensitivity enhancement approaches to accelerate advanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy, which enables us to investigate the local environment around such sites of interest in novel materials including dilute species, surfaces, interfaces and defects. Methodological advances focus on the development of high field dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), fast magic angle spinning (MAS) and indirect detection techniques to enable multinuclear, multidimensional solid-state NMR spectroscopy. We apply these advanced solid-state NMR techniques to characterize catalytic and energy-relevant materials such as organometallic compounds, heterogeneous catalysts, nanomaterials, and porous solids such as zeolites and metal organic frameworks.

While our lab primarily focuses on experimental NMR work, our scientific approach is supported by theory and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate chemical structure. Researchers in our lab will utilize state-of-the-art Bruker 400 MHz MAS DNP and 600 MHz solid-state NMR spectrometers. In addition, our group has access to an 800 MHz NMR spectrometer, which will be equipped with solid-state NMR capability. Trainees in our group will gain expertise in the development and application of solid-state NMR spectroscopy of materials, and have opportunities to learn and apply liquid-state NMR, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, DFT calculations and other characterization techniques. We aim to utilize this comprehensive approach to guide the design of efficient catalysts and materials to tackle global challenges.

The Venkatesh group welcomes trainees at all levels – contact us if you are interested! Graduate students interested in joining the group should first be admitted to the UVA Chemistry graduate program; students are welcome to contact Amrit to learn about current research projects and summer opportunities. Undergraduate researchers are welcome to contact Amrit with a CV and Transcript.

Representative publications:

R. Verma, C. Singhvi, A. Venkatesh, V. Polshettiwar. Defects Tune the Acidic Strength of Amorphous Aluminosilicates. Nat. Commun. 2024, 15, 6899. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51233-9

A. Venkatesh, G. Casano, R. Wei, Y. Rao, H. Lingua, H. Karoui, M. Yulikov, O. Ouari, L. Emsley. Rational Design of Dinitroxide Polarizing Agents for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization to Enhance Overall Sensitivity. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202317337. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202317337

A. Venkatesh, D. Gioffrè, B. Atterberry, L. Rochlitz, S. Carnahan, Z. Wang, G. Menzildjian, A. Lesage, C. Coperét, A. Rossini. The Molecular and Electronic Structure of Isolated Platinum Sites Enabled by Expedient Measurement of 195Pt Chemical Shift Anisotropy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 13511-13525. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c02300

A. Venkatesh, A. Lund, L. Rochlitz, R. Jabbour, C. P. Gordon, G. Menzildjian, J. Viger-Gravel, P. Berruyer, D. Gajan, C. Copéret, A. Lesage, A. J. Rossini. The Structure of Molecular and Surface Platinum Sites Determined by DNP-SENS and Fast MAS 195Pt Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 18936-18945. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c09101

A. Venkatesh, X. Luan, I. Hung, F. A. Perras, W. Huang, A. J. Rossini. t1-Noise Eliminated Dipolar Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherence Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2020, 22, 20815-20828. DOI: 10.1039/D0CP03511D

A full list of publications is available at my Google Scholar Page.