My chemistry journey began more than forty years ago in physical organic chemistry primarily focused on generation and characterization of long-lived carbocations in superacids at low temperatures. These studies led to my independent work in the area of organofluorine chemistry. In the late eighties, we developed trifluoromethyltrimethylsilane (TMSCF3, known as the Ruppert-Prakash Reagent) as a nucleophilic trifluoromethylating reagent. Few years back, even we managed to isolate and characterize trifluoromethyl anion as a long-lived species. TMSCF3 is not only a versatile trifluoromethylating agent but also can be used for diluoromethylations and difluoromethylenations. For the past twenty years or so, our group has focused on solving the carbon conundrum facing the humankind through carbon dioxide capture and recycling (CCR) through methanol, a drop in liquid fuel and a valuable chemical feed-stock. The Methanol Economy concept that was jointly developed with my late mentor and colleague, Nobel Laureate George A. Olah, is expected to solve the energy and material problems of the world in the long run and at the same time address the issue of global warming due to increased CO2 emissions by excessive fossil fuel use. Some of the highlights of our work in the above areas will be succinctly described.

From long-lived carbocations to “The Methanol Economy”, a most rewarding journey

256th National Meeting (2018)

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