Polymer Chemistry Group @IITK
Updated on 24/08/2026
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Our group works on polymer chemistry; we make and break polymer (see the research section for details).
We work on the development of new synthetic chemistry for the synthesis of polymers with targeted properties.
In an effort toward sustainability and circularity, we utilize simple organic chemistry for the minimization of plastic waste.
We are looking for passionate Ph.D. students. For the Ph.D. student, prior knowledge of polymer chemistry is optional.
Contact details:
Dr. Ramkrishna Sarkar
Office: 101-H(B), Core Lab extension, Department of Chemistry IIT Kanpur, Kanpur-208016, India. Phone: 0512-259-2304
Lab: Core extension lab (ground floor), Academic area, IIT Kanpur. Phone no. 0512-259-2604
Email: ramkrishna@iitk.ac.in
The group (Dec 2025)
The group (May 2025)
The group (25.03.2023)
News
July 2026: Dinesh Kumar Prajapati joined the group as PhD scholar. Welcome Dinesh to the group.
Manish and Navya joined the group as M.Sc. Project students. Welcome Manish and Navya to the group.
June 2026: The manuscript titled "Upcycling of Waste PET Via Recyclable Crosslinked Polyimine Network" authored by Souvik Das, Vatsalya Gupta, Ramkrishna Sarkar*, has been accepted for publication in Polymer.
Congratulations Souvik and Vatsalya!
May 2026: The manuscript titled "Design of Bio-Based Polycondensates: Structural Regulation of Properties and Closed-loop Recycling" authored by Sourabh Singh and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in Macromolecules.
Congratulations Sourabh!
April 2026: Dr. Akansha Dixit joined the group as Research Associate. Welcome to the group Dr. Akansha.
December 2025: The manuscript titled "Enabling the recyclability of epoxy networks via dynamic ether networks" authored by Rahul PatwalϮ, Pawan KumarϮ and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in journal Macromolecules.
Congratulations Rahul and Pawan!
October 2025: The manuscript titled " Design of a recyclable thiol-ene network with dynamic ether linkages: regulation of creep and dynamicity" authored by Pawan KumarϮ, Rahul PatwalϮ and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in journal Macromolecules.
Congratulations Pawan and Rahul!
The manuscript titled "Upcycling of polymer waste to closed loop recyclable polymers" authored by Sourabh Singh and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in journal Polymer Chemistry.
Congratulations Sourabh!
September 2025: The manuscript titled "Designing Super Tough, Highly Stretchable, and Multi-Responsive Hydrogels with Self-Healing Properties" authored by Akansha Dixit and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in Journal Polymer.
Congratulations Akansha!
The manuscript titled "Benzyl thio-ether: a dynamic covalent motif for covalent adaptable networks" authored by Vatsalya Gupta and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in journal Macromolecules.
Congratulations Vatsalya !
August 2025: The manuscript titled "Closed-loop recyclable cross-linked polymeric materials via dynamic transetherification" authored by Pawan KumarϮ, Yashi AgarwalϮ, Soumabrata Majumdar, and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in Chemcomm.
ϮAuthours contributed equally
Congratulations to Yashi and Pawan!
July 2025: Riya Saha joined the group as Ph.D. scholar. Welcome Riya to the group.
May 2025: Rahul Patel, Bhavya Singh and Ishita Rathi joined the group as Summer Interns. Welcome Rahul, Bhavya and Ishita to the group.
April 2025: The manuscript titled "Upcycling of Waste PET via Reprocessable Thermoset-like Covalent Adaptable Networks (CANs)" authored by Vatsalya Gupta, Soumabrata Majumdar, Debabrota Das, Prabin Kumar Ashish, and Ramkrishna Sarkar* has been accepted for publication in the Journal "Polymer ".
Congratulations Vatsalya!
April 2025: In a recent interaction with ChemComm, Dr. Sarkar discussed our recent work, the group’s research interests, and future directions. Take a look at the interview.
https://blogs.rsc.org/cc/2025/04/04/chemcomm-milestones-ramkrishna-sarkar/
March 2025: The paper titled "Closed-Loop Recycling of Covalent Adaptable Network (CAN) Derived from Dopamine and Waste PET," authored by Vatsalya Gupta, and Ramkrishna Sarkar* (2025), has just been accepted for publication in the Journal of Polymer Science.
Congratulations Vatsalya!
March 2025: Amphiphilic copolymer solid-state composite electrolyte for room temperature Na-ion batteries. Vatsalya Gupta, Ramkrishna Sarkar, Nelofer, Sudarshan Narayanan, Mayanglambam Dinachandra Singh, Karanpal Singh. (2025) Patent applied.
March 2025: Our group's first paper has been published in ChemComm, where we present a novel chemistry for creating reprocessable thermosets. Check it out!
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/cc/d5cc00788g
April 2025: The rheometer has been installed, and we can now assess the dynamic behavior and determine the mechanical properties of our polymer.
Feb 2025: Vatsalya received the Best Poster Award at the International Conference on Advances in Functional Materials and Applications, held at BITS Pilani, Goa from Feb 19-22, 2025. Congratulations Vatsalya !
Oct 2024: Dr. Himanshi Chaurasia joined the group as project associate. Welcome Dr. Himanshi to the group.
Sept 2024: Vatsalya received the Best Poster Award in the Organic Chemistry Symposium (OCS-2024), held at IIT Kanpur from Sept 08-09, 2024 . Congratulations Vatsalya !
July 2024: Yashi and Rahul joined the group as PhD scholars. Welcome Yashi and Rahul to the group.
July 2023: Souvik and Sourabh joined the group as PhD Scholars. Welcome Souvik and Sourabh to the group.
June 2023: A new GPC instrument (which helps in the determination of molecular weight) is installed. Now we can examine the molecular weight of the polymer which we make and break.
May 2023: Dr. Pawan Kumar joined the group as a Post-doc. Welcome, Dr. Pawan to the group.
Jan 2023: Our group received a grant from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Congratulations to the team! We thank SERB for the support!
Jan 2023: Rohit (IITK Undergraduate) joined the group.
Aug 2022: Vatsalya Gupta joined the group as a Ph.D. scholar. Welcome, Vatsalya to the group.
May 2022: RKS joined the Department as an Assistant professor
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