Research Interest
- Catalysis
- Biofuels
- Nucleation
- Gas-Surface and Liquid-Surface Interactions
- Molecular Simulation
- Abintio Molecular Dynamics
- Density Functional Theory
- Rare-Event Simulations
- Reaction Rate Theory
Education
- B Tech, Punjab University, 2003
- M Tech, IIT Bombay, 2006
- Ph.D, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2012
- Post-doc, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2012-16
Research Overview
The primary focus of my research group is to develop molecular-level understanding of
complex systems in the areas of catalysis, biomass conversion and nucleation; with the
ultimate aim of assisting in better design of such processes. We use and develop ab
initio quantum chemical, molecular dynamics, monte carlo and rare-event methods to
investigate the atomic features that govern the molecular transformations in these processes.
We are also developing methods for efficient exploration of potential energy surfaces.
Awards
- Research on molten metals highlighted in Science Daily, Amar Ujala, Green Car Congress, Research Matters and Chemistry World.
- Ramanujan Fellowship, 2017.
- Research on cellulose decomposition highlighted in BioBased Digest and North American Clean Energy.
- RG Madhudhane M. Tech. Best Masters Research Thesis Award, IITB, 2006.
- 1st Prize in Technical Paper Presentation, Eureka-2002, PU, 2002.
Publications
- Aditya Goyal, Vishal Agarwal, Rate-Enhancing Role of Water in H-BEA and Sn-BEA for Keto–Enol Tautomerization of Acetone: A DFT Study, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 127 (46), 22618–22628 (2023).
- A. Lal Bose, V. Agarwal, Oxygen Healing and CO2 /H2 /Anisole Dissociation on Reduced Molybdenum Oxide Surfaces Studied by Density Functional Theory, ChemPhysChem: e202200510(2022).
- S. K. Dutta, S. Ghosh, H. Metiu, V. Agarwal, Nascent Decomposition Pathways of CH4 Pyrolysis in Gas Phase Metal Halides, Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 126, 5900 (2022).
- S. K. Dutta, V. Agarwal, DFT study of phenol alkylation with propylene on H-BEA in the absence and presence of water, Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 6, 2315 (2021).
- R. Saxena, VBKSPK Avanigadda, R. Singh, V. Agarwal, Ab initio dynamics of gas‐phase and aqueous-phase hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate, International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, 121, e26615 (2021).
- V. Agarwal, H. Metiu, Rates of adsorption and desorption: Entropic contributions and errors due to mean-field approximations, Journal of Chemical Physics, 150, 184702 (2019).
