# Debabrata Maiti
**Debabrata Maiti** (দেবব্রত মৈতি; born 1980) is an Indian chemist, Institute Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, known for palladium-catalyzed distal and meta [C–H functionalization](https://www.edgepedia.org/c-h-functionalization) of arenes, in which otherwise unreactive carbon–hydrogen bonds on an aromatic ring are converted selectively into carbon–carbon or carbon–heteroatom bonds at sites far from any directing group.[1](https://www.dmaiti.com/dm) • [2](https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL2023019) He received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Chemical Sciences in 2022 from the [Council of Scientific and Industrial Research](https://www.edgepedia.org/council-of-scientific-and-industrial-research) and was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 2023.[3](https://faculty.iitb.ac.in/newsresearch-highlights/prof-debabrata-maiti-iit-bombay-awarded-shanti-swarup-bhatnagar-prize-2022) • [2](https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL2023019)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position | Institute Chair Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay[1](https://www.dmaiti.com/dm) |
| Field | C–H activation catalysis; bioinspired catalysis; organometallic chemistry[2](https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL2023019) |
| Training | Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University (2008, Kenneth D. Karlin); postdoc MIT with Stephen L. Buchwald (2008–2010)[4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) |
| Signature work | *Arene diversification through distal C(sp2)−H functionalization*, Science, 2021; *Access to unsaturated bicyclic lactones by overriding conventional C(sp3)–H site selectivity*, Nature Chemistry, 2023[5](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abd5992) • [6](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01295-x) |
| Major honors | Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2022; IASc Fellowship 2023; NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Award 2019[3](https://faculty.iitb.ac.in/newsresearch-highlights/prof-debabrata-maiti-iit-bombay-awarded-shanti-swarup-bhatnagar-prize-2022) • [2](https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL2023019) • [4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) |
| Industrial reach | Maiti-Bera-Modak and Maiti-Bag auxiliaries for distal C–H functionalization sold by Sigma-Aldrich and TCI[7](https://uni-freiburg.de/frias/dr-debabrata-maiti/) |
## Education and training
Maiti completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur (affiliated with the [University of Calcutta](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-calcutta)) in 2001, and a master's degree at [IIT Bombay](https://www.edgepedia.org/iit-bombay) in 2003, where he received the institute silver medal.[3](https://faculty.iitb.ac.in/newsresearch-highlights/prof-debabrata-maiti-iit-bombay-awarded-shanti-swarup-bhatnagar-prize-2022) A publisher biography once states the Ph.D. as obtained "in 2003";[8](https://doi.org/10.51167/acm00036) his institutional and ORCID records give 2003–2008.[4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) • [9](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8353-1306)
From 2008 to 2010 he was a postdoctoral researcher with [Stephen L. Buchwald](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-l-buchwald) at the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](https://www.edgepedia.org/massachusetts-institute-of-technology), working on transition-metal catalysis.[4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) • [10](https://www.dmaiti.com/)
## Career at IIT Bombay
Maiti started his independent career at IIT Bombay in 2011 as assistant professor (ORCID records the appointment from December 2010).[4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) • [9](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8353-1306) He was promoted to associate professor in 2015 and to professor in 2021, and currently holds an Institute Chair Professorship.[4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) • [1](https://www.dmaiti.com/dm) He served as visiting faculty at the [University of Pavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-pavia), Italy, from 2017 to 2019, and was an External Senior Fellow (Alexander von Humboldt Fellow) at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies from June to August 2023.[4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) • [7](https://uni-freiburg.de/frias/dr-debabrata-maiti/) He became an Associate Editor of *The Journal of Organic Chemistry* and Editor-in-Chief of *Synlett*.[4](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html) • [11](https://iitmandi.ac.in/pdf/colloquium/DebMaiti_Abstract%20&%20Bio.pdf)
## Research: distal and meta-C–H functionalization
Transition-metal-catalyzed [C–H activation](https://www.edgepedia.org/c-h-activation) replaces a stepwise functional-group sequence with direct conversion of a C–H bond. The difficulty is site selectivity. Directing groups coordinate the metal catalyst and form favorable five- to seven-membered metallacycles (ring-shaped structure containing a metal atom) at positions adjacent to the directing atom (ortho activation), but functionalizing a distal meta or para position would require a large macrocyclic metallacycle, which is energetically unfavorable.[12](https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00629) • [5](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abd5992)
Maiti's group developed a series of template and directing-group strategies to solve this. Early work used nitrile-based cleavable linkers as U-shaped templates that position the palladium catalyst over a remote meta or para C–H bond; later templates based on more robust heterocycles (pyrimidine-based directing groups) replaced weakly coordinating cyano groups, whose weak coordination and competing binding modes limit the earlier designs.[13](https://www.dmaiti.com/metal-catalyzed-c-h-functionalization) • [12](https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00629) His group achieved palladium-catalyzed meta-selective alkylation, cyanation, olefination, and acetoxylation of arenes across conformationally flexible linkers of up to 20 atoms between the target C–H bond and the directing heteroatom.[14](https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201804043)
Beyond directing-group-assisted chemistry, the lab developed non-covalent-interaction-guided catalysis for directing-group-free functionalization. Weak, reversible interactions such as silicon–fluorine Lewis acid–base pairing, hydrogen bonding, ion pairing, and π–π stacking orient the catalyst near remote C–H bonds, enabling late-stage functionalization of pharmaceuticals without installing and removing a covalent directing group.[13](https://www.dmaiti.com/metal-catalyzed-c-h-functionalization) On the aliphatic side, ligand-enabled Pd(II) catalysis with cooperative ligands such as pyridone, MPAA ligands, and phosphines delivers β- and γ-C(sp3)–H arylation and alkenylation of carboxylic acid derivatives.[13](https://www.dmaiti.com/metal-catalyzed-c-h-functionalization)
## Representative work
- **[Arene diversification through distal C(sp2)−H functionalization](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd5992)** (*Science*, 2021): a review organizing the field of meta- and para-C–H activation into four strategy classes: σ-bond activation–assisted remote functionalization, template-assisted remote functionalization, bifunctional templates for heteroarenes, and noncovalent interactions such as ion pairing and hydrogen bonding.[5](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abd5992)
- **[Access to unsaturated bicyclic lactones by overriding conventional C(sp3)–H site selectivity](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01295-x)** (*Nature Chemistry*, 2023): using a bulky amino acid ligand, N-acetyl tertiary leucine, the γ-methylene group of cycloalkane acetic acids was activated in preference to the more facile γ-methyl group, reversing the conventional selectivity; lactones are structural motifs in natural products and pharmaceuticals.[8](https://doi.org/10.51167/acm00036) • [6](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01295-x) • [3](https://faculty.iitb.ac.in/newsresearch-highlights/prof-debabrata-maiti-iit-bombay-awarded-shanti-swarup-bhatnagar-prize-2022)
## Later work and current directions
Since 2023 the group has extended into photochemistry. A 2024 *Nature Catalysis* paper demonstrated a ligand-controlled, visible-light-driven monometallic cross-electrophile coupling in which dual palladium catalytic cycles differentiate two electrophiles based on bond dissociation enthalpy, bypassing the traditional transmetalation step that normally requires preformed organometallic reagents; the method couples abundant (hetero)aryl halides and pseudohalides, and the preprint reports that more than 54% of the (hetero)biaryl cores produced were new compounds (the lab page states more than 55%).[15](https://www.dmaiti.com/photo-induced-c-h-activation) • [16](https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-t6s5l)
The practical relevance is direct: the group's template chemistry led to the Maiti-Bera-Modak Auxiliary, commercially available from [Sigma-Aldrich](https://www.edgepedia.org/sigma-aldrich), and the Maiti-Bag Auxiliary, available from TCI.[7](https://uni-freiburg.de/frias/dr-debabrata-maiti/)
## Honors and awards
Maiti received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2022 in Chemical Sciences, with prize money of ₹5,00,000, a citation, a plaque, and a monthly fellowship of ₹15,000 until age 65; the prize citation highlights constructing pharmacologically and industrially valuable chemicals from inexpensive feedstock molecules, including lactone-forming C–H activation.[3](https://faculty.iitb.ac.in/newsresearch-highlights/prof-debabrata-maiti-iit-bombay-awarded-shanti-swarup-bhatnagar-prize-2022) He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 2023 (Chemistry section, specialization C–H activation catalysis, and bioinspired catalysis), and is also FRSC (2019).[2](https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL2023019) • [18](https://www.dmaiti.com/awards-and-honors)
## References
1. [Debabrata Maiti – About (lab CV page)](https://www.dmaiti.com/dm)
2. [Prof. Debabrata Maiti – Indian Academy of Sciences Fellow profile](https://fellows.ias.ac.in/profile/v/FL2023019)
3. [Prof. Debabrata Maiti awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2022 – IIT Bombay](https://faculty.iitb.ac.in/newsresearch-highlights/prof-debabrata-maiti-iit-bombay-awarded-shanti-swarup-bhatnagar-prize-2022)
4. [Debabrata Maiti – Tokyo Tech WRHI](https://www.irfi.titech.ac.jp/wrhi-archive/en/people/debabrata-maiti/index.html)
5. [Arene diversification through distal C(sp2)−H functionalization – Science](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abd5992)
6. [Access to unsaturated bicyclic lactones by overriding conventional C(sp3)–H site selectivity – Nature Chemistry](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01295-x)
7. [Prof. Dr. Debabrata Maiti – Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies](https://uni-freiburg.de/frias/dr-debabrata-maiti/)
8. [Transition Metal Catalyzed Remote C-H Activation – book chapter biography](https://doi.org/10.51167/acm00036)
9. [Debabrata Maiti – ORCID](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8353-1306)
10. [DM lab – IIT Bombay](https://www.dmaiti.com/)
11. [Unlocking new chemical space via selective catalysis – IIT Mandi colloquium abstract and bio](https://iitmandi.ac.in/pdf/colloquium/DebMaiti_Abstract%20&%20Bio.pdf)
12. [Emergence of Pyrimidine-Based meta-Directing Group – Acc. Chem. Res.](https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00629)
13. [Metal Catalyzed C-H activation – Maiti lab](https://www.dmaiti.com/metal-catalyzed-c-h-functionalization)
14. [Diverse meta-C−H Functionalization of Arenes across Different Linker Lengths – Angew. Chem.](https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201804043)
15. [Photo Catalysis – Maiti lab](https://www.dmaiti.com/photo-induced-c-h-activation)
16. [A monometallic approach for the C(sp2)-C(sp2) cross-electrophile coupling – ChemRxiv preprint](https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-t6s5l)
17. [Photocatalytic regioselective C–H bond functionalizations in arenes – Chem. Sci. 2025](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/sc/d4sc07491b)
18. [Awards and Honors – Debabrata Maiti lab site](https://www.dmaiti.com/awards-and-honors)
19. [Dr. Debabrata Maiti, FRSC, FASc – CV spotlight PDF](http://sites.science.oregonstate.edu/chemistry/blakemore/Downloads/spotlight/MaitiD_Aita.pdf)
20. [Palladium catalyzed regioselective distal C(sp2)–H functionalization – Chem. Commun. 2025](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/cc/d4cc06546h)
21. [Pd-catalyzed regioselective activation of C(sp2)–H and C(sp3)–H bonds – Chem. Soc. Rev. 2024](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/cs/d4cs00408f)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Physical world and mathematics › Physical and mathematical scientists › Chemists › Researchers in organic synthesis, organometallic, and medicinal chemistry › C–H activation and functionalization*
*Initially written Sep 20, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license