Biography 

Thomas Mathew has completed his M. Sc degree in chemistry from School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Karala in 1997.  He has completed Ph.D. in Chemistry (Heterogeneous Catalysis) from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune and awarded Ph.D degree from University of Pune, India in 2003.  He has almost 25 years of research experience with 5 years of postdoctoral at various renowned institutes including AIST (Japan), Academia Sinica (Taiwan), University of Tokyo (Japan), and University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands).  He has been awarded the internationally renowned JSPS (Japan) and HRSMC fellowships (The Netherlands).  He has 3 years industrial research experience at Toyota Central R&D Labs (Japan) from 2008 to 2011. He is a research guide in chemistry recognized by University of Kerala. He has published several articles in international peer reviewed high impact journals, more than 20 confidential industrial reports and having 2 granted Japanese patents.  He has been Assistant Professor since July 2013 at St. John’s College, Anchal, Kerala and hold the HOD position since 2015.  He was MHRD AISHE Nodal officer (2013 to 2023) and also DST-FIST coordinator of this college.

Educational qualifications    

M.Sc, CSIR JRF & NET, Ph.D

Areas of Interest 

Heterogeneous Catalysis & Material Chemistry

Mail id

thomasmathew@stjohns.ac.in; thomasm74@gmail.com

Teaching experience in years

12 years

Awards/Recognitions   

• First rank holder in M.Sc Inorganic Chemistry (School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, 1997)
• CSIR JRF Research Fellowship and NET (1998)
• AIST Postdoctoral fellowship, Japan (2003-2005)
• National Science Council Postdoctoral Fellowship, Taiwan (2006)
• JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan (2006-2008)
• Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry (HRSMC) Fellowship, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2022)

Projects     

• Principal Investigator of UGC minor research project on Synthesis of porous ferrihydrite-based nanocomposite materials of 2-line ferrihydrite phase with tailored pore size as heterogeneous catalyst material for green chemical organic transformation (2016-2018)
• DST-FIST coordinator (2016 onwards)

Publications        

   Research Publications

• Multifunctional Na-enriched Ni–Fe/Ni–P plates for highly efficient photo- and electrocatalytic water splitting reactions A. Anantha Krishnan, Aneesh Kumar M. A, Revathy B. Nair, Sivaraj R, Lamiya A, P. K. Jishnu, Sajith Kurian, Thomas Mathew, M. Ameen Shac and P. S. Arun  New J. Chemistry (Published online), November, 2022 DOI: 10.1039/d2nj04389k
• Electronically Integrated Mesoporous Ag-TiO2 Nanocomposite Thin films for Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production in Direct Sunlight  Sunesh S Mani, Sivaraj Rajendran, Naresh Nalajala, Thomas Mathew, Chinnakonda S Gopinath  Energy Technology, 12 August 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/ente.202100356
• Modeling of Ionization Energy of Elements Using Hartree-Fock Method: An Introduction to Computational Quantum Chemistry for Undergraduate Students  Krishnamohan G P, Thomas Mathew, Simi Saju, James T. Joseph  ISSN (Print): 2375-1665, ISSN (Online): 2375-1657 World Journal of Chemical Education, 5 (2017) 112-119.
•  Mesoporousferrihydrite with incorporated manganese for rapid removal of organic contaminants in air.  T. Mathew*, K. Suzuki, Y. Ikuta, N. Takahashi, and H. Shinjo, ChemComm, 48 (2012) 10987-10989 (As one of the corresponding author). http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/cc/c2cc36120e ISSN: 1359-7345
• ?-Al2-xMxO3?y (M = Ti4+ through Ga3+): Potential pseudo-3D mesoporous materials with tunable acidity and electronic structure.  T. Mathew, K. Sivaranjani, E. S. Gnanakumar, Y. Yamada, T. Kobayashi, and C. S. Gopinath, J. Mater.Chem,,221 (2012) 13484-13493. This article has been selected for inside front cover picture.  http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/jm/c2jm31184d  ISSN: 0959-9428
• Mesoporous Ferrihydrite-based Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Highly Promising Material for Ozone Removal. T. Mathew*, K. Suzuki, Y. Ikuta, Y. Nagai, N. Takahashi, and H. Shinjo, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 50 (2011) 7381-7384 (As one of the corresponding author). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201102007/abstract ISSN: 1521-3773  This article has been selected for press release entitled “ozone catcher” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1521-3773/homepage/press/ 201127 press.html
• Mesoporous 2-line ferrihydrite by a solution phase cooperative assembly process to use as an efficient material for the removal of organic contaminants in air. T. Mathew*, K. Suzuki, Y. Nagai, T. Nonaka, Y. Ikuta, N. Takahashi, N. Suzuki, and H. Shinjo, Chemistry:    A European Journal, 17 (2011) 1092-1095 (As corresponding author). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chem.201002920/abstract ISSN: 1521-3765
• Synthesis and Characterization of Aluminium Containing CIT-1 and their Application towar Hydrocarbon Trap.  T. Mathew, S. P. Elangoan, T. Yokoi, T. Tatsumi, M. Ogura, Y. Kubota, A. Shimojima, and  T. Okubo, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 129 (2010) 126-135. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S138718110900417X ISSN: 1387-1811
• A novel DME steam reforming catalyst designed with fact database on-demand. Y. Yamada, T. Mathew, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama and T. Kobayashi, Appl. Surf. Science,252 (2006) 2593-2597. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169433205011670 ISSN: 0169-4332
• Effect of support on the activity of Ga2O3 species for steam reforming of dimethyl ether. T. Mathew, Y. Yamada, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama, T. Kobayashi and C.S. Gopinath,  Appl. Catal, A: General, 300 (2006) 58-66. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926860X05008185 ISSN: 0926-860X
• Metal oxide catalysts for DME steam reforming: Ga2O3 and Ga2O3-Al2O3 catalysts with and without copper. T. Mathew,Y. Yamada, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama and T. Kobayashi, Appl. Catal, A: General, 286 (2005) 11-22. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926860X05001419 ISSN: 0926-860X
• Metal oxide catalysts for DME steam reforming: Ga2O3 and Ga2O3-Al2O3 catalysts. T. Mathew, Y. Yamada, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama and T. Kobayashi, Catal. Lett., 100 (2005) 247-253. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10562-004-3463-4?LI=true  ISSN: 1011-372X
• Combinatorial catalysis survey concerning proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology – As a part of “Materiomics”. Y. Yamada, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama, T. Mathew, T. Ioroi, K. Yasuda, T. Akita, S. Ichikawa, K. Tanaka, M. Kohyama and T. Kobayashi, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 804, JJ9.4 (2004) 205. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8006433 ISSN: 0272-9172
• A mechanistic approach to phenol methylation on Cu1-xCoxFe2O4: FT-IR Study.  T. Mathew, M. Vijayaraj, S. Pai, B.B. Tope, S.G. Hegde, B.S. Rao and C.S.Gopinath, J. catal., 227 (2004) 175-185. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951704003379  ISSN: 0021-9517
•  Selective Production of Orthoalkylphenols on Cu0.50Co0.50Fe2O4: a study of catalysis and characterization. T. Mathew, S. Shylesh, B. M. Devassy, C.V.V.Satyanarayana, B. S. Rao and C. S. Gopinath, Appl. Catal, A:General,  273 (2004) 35-45. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926860X04005691 ISSN: 0926-860X
•  Selective Catalytic Synthesis of   2-Ethyl Phenol over Cu1-xCoxFe2O4 –Catalysis and XPS aspects T.Mathew, N. R. Shiju, V.V. Bokade, B.S. Rao and C.S. Gopinath, Catal. Lett.,94 (2004) 223-236. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FB% 3ACATL.0000020577.34669.4c?LI=true ISSN: 1011-372X
• Redistribution of cations amongst different lattice sites in Cu1-xCoxFe2O4ferrospinels during alkylation: Magnetic study. T. Mathew, S. Shylesh, C.P.Sebastian, S. N. Reddy, S. K. Date, B. S. Rao and S. D. Kulkarni, Catal. Lett.,93 (2004) 155-163. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FB%3ACATL.0000017070.12868.6f?LI=true ISSN: 1011-372X
• Tertiary Butylation of Phenol on Cu1-xCoxFe2O4: Catalysis and Structure-Activity Correlation.  T. Mathew, B. S. Rao and C. S. Gopinath, J. Catal., 222  (2004) 107-116. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951703004561  ISSN: 0021-9517
• Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene over Cu1-xCoxFe2O4 catalyst system: Influence of acid-base property.  T. Mathew, S. Malwadkar, S. Pai, N. Sharanappa, C.P. Sebastian, V.V. bokade and C.V.V. Satyanarayana, Catal. Lett.,91 (2003) 217-224. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B%3ACATL.0000007158.88722.5e ISSN: 1011-372X
• Thermodynamic study of reaction of phenol with methanol over Cu1-xCoxFe2O4 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 &1) spinel system. T. Mathew, N.R.  Shiju, R.Y. Nimje, P.M. Adkine, B.S. Rao and V.V. Bokade, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 81, Part A (2003) 265-270 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263876203723065 ISSN: 0263-8762
• Acid-base properties of Cu1-xCoxFe2O4ferrospinels: FT-IR investigations. T. Mathew, N. R. Shiju, B. B. Tope, S. G. Hegde, B. S. Rao and C. S. Gopinath,  Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 4 (2002) 4260-4267. http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelandin/2002/cp/b204226f ISSN: 1463-9076
• Cu1-xCoxFe2O4 ferrospinels in alkylation: structural changes upon reaction K. Lázár, T. Mathew, Z. Koppány, J.  Megyeri, V.  Samuel, S. P.  Mirajkar, B. S. Rao and L. Guczi, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.,4 (2002) 3530-3536. http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2002/cp/b201299e ISSN: 1463-9076
• Cu-Co Synergism in Cu1-xCoxFe2O4 – Catalysis and XPS Aspects. T. Mathew,N. R. Shiju, K. Sreekumar, B. S. Rao and C. S. Gopinath, J. Catal., 210 (2002) 405-417. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951702937127 ISSN: 0021-9517
•  Vapor-phase methylation of pyridine with methanol to 3-picoline over Zn1- xCoxFe2O4 (x=0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0)- type ternary spinels prepared via a low temperature method. K. Sreekumar, T. Mathew, B. M. Devassy, R. Rajgopal, R. Vetrivel and B. S. Rao, Appl. Catal, A:General, 205 (2001) 1118. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926860X00005421 ISSN: 0926-860X
• Selective N-methylation of aniline with dimethyl carbonate over Zn1-xCoxFe2O4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0)    type systems. K. Sreekumar, T.M. Jyothi, T. Mathew, M. B. Talwar, S. Sugunan and B. S. Rao, J. Mol. Catal. A, 159 (2000) 327-334. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1381116900001874 ISSN: 1381-1169
•  A comparative study on aniline alkylation activity using methanol and dimethyl carbonate as the alkylating agents over Zn-Co-Feternary spinel systems. K. Sreekumar, T. Mathew, S. P. Mirajkar, S. Sugunan and B. S. Rao, Appl. Catal, A:General, 201 (2000) L1-L8.  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926860X0000418X ISSN: 0926-860X
• Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene over Zn1-xNixFe2O4 (x=0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0) type systems: Effect of composition on surface properties and catalytic activities. K.Sreekumar, T. Mathew, T.M. Jyothi, B. M. Devassy, S. Sugunan and B.S. Rao, Polish Journal of Chemistry, 74 (2000) 509. http://ichf.edu.pl/pjch/pj-2000/pj042000.htm ISSN: 0137-5083
• Selective synthesis of 3-picoline via the vapor-phase methylation of pyridine with methanol over Ni1xCoxFe2O4 (x=0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0) type ferrites. K. Sreekumar, T. Mathew, R. Rajagopal, R. Vetrivel and B.S. Rao, Catal. Lett., 65 (2000) 99-105. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1019081608421?LI=true ISSN: 1011-372X

      Book chapters

• Survey of Heterogeneous Catalysts for the CO2 Reduction to CO via Reverse Water Gas Shift, Chapter 12 (Pages: 281-316). Thomas Mathew, Simi Saju, Shiju N. Raveendran, Engineering Solutions for CO2 Conversion, Tomas R. Reina, Harvey Arellano-Garcia, José A. Odriozola (Editor(s)), 19 February 2021 Print ISBN:9783527346394, Online ISBN:9783527346523 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9783527346523
• Selective Alkylation of Organic Substrates on Spinels M. Vijayaraj, T. Mathew, and C. S. Gopinath, Heterogeneous Catalysis Research Progress,  Ed. Mathias B. Gunther, pp. 145-191 (2008), Nova Science, New York.

Patents

• An improved process for the preparation of 2,6-xylenol from phenol. B. S. Rao, T. Mathew, R. Vetrivel and N. R. Shiju, Indian patent (Patent Application No: NF 287/99).
•  Dimethyl Ether (DME) steam reforming catalysts and hydrogen production with them.      Y. Yamada, T. Mathew, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama and T. Kobayashi, Japanese Patent  (Patent Application No:   2004-55728).
• Dimethyl Ether (DME) steam reforming catalysts and hydrogen production with them. Y. Yamada, T. Mathew, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama and T. Kobayashi, Japanese Patent 4264514 (3rd March, 2004)
• Nanoparticle aggregated mesoporous 2-line ferrihydrite and ferrihydrite containing crystalline iron    oxides: Synthesis and their application to air purification processes K. Suzuki, T. Mathew, Fukumoto and Itoh, Japanese Patent 5704502 (6th March, 2015)

Conference presentations and Invited talk

• Invited talk on ‘Tales told by molecules’, SN College, Punalur, 16th March 2023
•   Invited talk on photoelectron spectroscopy and applications to solid surfaces,  DST-FIST sponsored workshop at Christian College, Chengannoor, 13th December, 2022
•   Synthesis and Characterization of Aluminium Containing CIT-1 and their Application toward Hydrocarbon Trap. T. Mathew, S. P. Elangoan, T. Yokoi, T. Tatsumi, M. Ogura, Y. Kubota, A. Shimojima, and  T. Okubo,  International Symposium on Zeolites and Microporous Crystals   (ZMPC 2009), 3-7 August, 2009, Waseda , University, Tokyo, Japan.
• Invited talk on H2 production from methanol by steam reforming reaction, Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences (IAMS), Academia Sinica, Taiwan (October 14, 2005).
•  Combinatorial catalysis on hydrogen production or purification. Y. Yamada, T. Mathew, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama and T. Kobayashi, 93rd annual meeting of  catalysis society of   Japan, Osaka, 31 March, 2004.
• High throughput catalysis evaluation by gas sensor system. Y. Yamada, T. Mathew, A. Ueda, H. Shioyama and T. Kobayashi, 94th annual meeting of  Catalysis  Society  of   Japan, Sendai, 29 Septemper, 2004.
• Alkylation of phenol with ethanol over Zn1-xCoxFe2O4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.6, 0.8 and 1) ferrospinels. R. Anand, T. Mathew, P.S. Mukund, S.P. Mirajkar and B.S. Rao, Fifteenth Indian National Symposium on Catalysis and Second Conference of the Indo-Pacific Catalysis Association CATSYMP-15 & IPCAT-2, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India, 23-25 January, 2001.
• Vapor-phase methylation of pyridine using methanol over Zn-Co-Fe ternary spinel systems. K. Sreekumar, T. Mathew, R. Vetrivel and B.S. Rao, National Workshop on Catalysis: Forays  into Non-   Traditional Areas (Catworkshop-2000), IICT, Hyderabad, 7-8 January, 2000.

Technical Research Reports

A total of 20 confidential technical research reports have been accepted in Toyota Central R & D’s database: The topics of these research reports include synthesis and characterization of advanced functional materials such as microporous, mesoporous and nanoparticle assembled porous transition metal oxides and their catalytic performance towards environmental related applications - ozone decomposition and volatile organic compound removal.

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