Dr Amit Kumar
UKRI Future Leaders Fellow
Biography
Amit completed his DPhil as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford (2012–2016), under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Weller, conducting research in synthetic organometallic chemistry. He subsequently moved to Israel to work with Prof. David Milstein at the Weizmann Institute of Science (2016–2019), where he developed new chemical processes catalysed by ruthenium and manganese pincer complexes.
In 2020, Amit joined the University of St Andrews as a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow and was awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship in 2022. He is currently a Research Group Leader (equivalent to Associate Professor) in the School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews. His research group works at the interface of homogeneous catalysis, polymer chemistry, and the circular economy.
Amit’s research has been recognised through several prestigious awards and grants, including an ERC Starting Grant, the 2025 RSC Harrison-Meldola Early Career Prize, the 2026 Watson–Arnott Breakthrough Discovery Prize, and the 2026 RSC BMOS Early Career Prize.
Research areas
Catalysis plays a major role in the production of food, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Kumar Research Laboratory (KuRLa) is striving in the area of green homogeneous catalysis to contribute to a circular eocnomy. The lab is working on the development of new sustainable catalytic processes for the synthesis of renewable polymers and depolymerisation of plastic waste as well as for the transformation of CO2 to useful chemicals/materials. A significant effort is also being made towards the development of new chemical hydrogen storage materials, preferably a renewable liquid of high gravimetric storage capacity. For more information see the group website: https://kumarresearchlab.com/
PhD supervision
- Garima -
- Sneha -
- Aayush Anand
- Ted Brumsen
- Chandrika Ghosh
- Luming Guo
- Alejandra Sophia Lozano Perez
- Benjamin Sole
- Maja Wiezik
Selected publications
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Open access
Chemical upcycling of nitrile butadiene rubbers to polyamines and polyols by chemoselective catalytic hydrogenation
Lozano Perez, A. S., Marcial-Hernandez, R., Sampathkumar, H., Emenike, O., Pancholi, K., Brodie, C. N., Dawson, D. & Kumar, A., 18 Mar 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Early View, 12 p., e25705.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Dual-functional LDPE and PP films with SiO₂-microbubble hybrid structures for thermal resistance and intelligent food spoilage detection
Kumar, H. S., Yadima, A., Pancholi, K., Gupta, R., Walker, M., Kumar, A., Abolle-Okoyeagu, J. & Flynn, D., 13 Jun 2026, In: Materials Today Communications. 54, 115533.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Formylation–decarbonylation relay strategy for the selective hydrogenation of CO2 to CO
Luk, J., Andrew, L., Saini, G., Andrews, M. J., Feeke, E., McKay, A. P., Cordes, D. B., Bühl, M. & Kumar, A., 23 Jan 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: ACS Catalysis. ASAP, 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
From plastic waste to pharmaceutical precursors: PET upcycling through ruthenium catalyzed semi-hydrogenation
Kulyabin, P. S., Luk, J., Uslamin, E. A., Kolganov, A. A., Saini, G., Marcial-Hernandez, R., Pancholi, K., Kühne, B., Dauth, A., McKay, A. P., Cordes, D. B., Pidko, E. A. & Kumar, A., 28 Jan 2026, In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 65, 5, 13 p., e21838.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Highly efficient hydrogenative depolymerisation of polycaprolactone to 1,6-hexanediol
Saini, G., Lozano Perez, A. S., von Wolff, N. & Kumar, A., 11 Feb 2026, In: RSC Sustainability. 4, 2, p. 829-835 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Polyetherureas as aqueous binders for Li ion batteries
Saini, G., Tan, M. J., Stanzione, M. G., Pancholi, K., Sampathkumar, H., Walker, M., Patterson, C., Vassalli, M., Naden, A. B., Magdysyuk, O. V., Tian, J., Armstrong, A. R. & Kumar, A., 5 Jan 2026, In: Green Chemistry. 28, 1, p. 318-325 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Potassium-ligand cooperation facilitated chemical bond activation and catalytic hydrogenation
Liang, Y., Efremenko, I., Subramanian, T., Kumar, A., Avram, L., Diskin-Posner, Y. & Milstein, D., 19 May 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Early View, 9 p., e7267440.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Synergistic anion-reinforced solvation chemistry and cationic electrostatic shielding for fast-charging sodium-ion full batteries over a wide temperature range
Zeng, X., Chen, J., Xu, X., Kuang, W., Shi, X., Zhang, X., Wan, Y., Zhou, Z., Zhou, X., Kumar, A., Chou, S.-L. & Li, L., 24 Aug 2026, In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 65, 35, 11 p., e3303191.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
2002-2022: 20 years of e-waste regulation in the European Union and the Worldwide trends in legislation and innovation technologies for a circular economy.
Serpe, A., Purchase, D., Bisschop, L., Chatterjee, D., De Gioannis, G., Garelick, H., Kumar, A., Peijnenburg, J. G. M., Piro, V. M. I., Cera, M., Shevah, Y. & Verbeek, S., 1 Mar 2025, In: RSC Sustainability. 3, 3, p. 1039-1083 45 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Open access
Direct synthesis of polyesterether from ethylene glycol
Saini, G., Kulyabin, P., McLuskie, A., von Wolff, N. & Kumar, A., 8 Apr 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. ASAP, 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review