Sharan Dhar, sharan.dhar@temple.edu
Sharan Dhar is a PhD researcher in analytical and physical chemistry at Temple University, working under the supervision of Professor Eric Borguet. He joined the group in fall 2021 and studies how the structure and chemical environment of metal oxides and porous materials control adsorption, charge storage, and catalytic reactivity.
His doctoral research includes synthesizing photochromic tungsten oxide (WO₃) nanoparticles and investigating light-induced charge storage and dark photocatalysis in metal oxides and hybrids of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and nanoparticles. He examines how synthesis conditions, chemical reduction, and the reaction environment influence photocharging and subsequent reactivity after illumination. His photocatalysis work also investigates C–H bond activation, including the selective oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde.
Sharan also investigates biomimetic catalysis using metal oxyhydroxides, covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and metal oxyhydroxide–COF hybrids for selective disulfide bond formation, peptide bond formation, and peptide hydrolysis. In parallel, he uses temperature-programmed desorption mass spectrometry (TPD-MS) and temperature-programmed infrared spectroscopy (TPIR) under ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) conditions to study molecular binding in MOFs, including how linker functionalization and solvent exchange affect CO₂ and chemical warfare agent simulant adsorption.
Through these projects, he has developed hands-on skills in nanoparticle and hybrid-material synthesis, UHV experimentation, reaction kinetics, and materials characterization. His experience includes UV–visible–near-infrared, FTIR, Raman, fluorescence, NMR, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, as well as powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). He uses Igor Pro and Origin for data analysis, helps train undergraduate researchers, and leads the group’s Porous Materials and Catalysis team.
Originally from Chittagong, Bangladesh, Sharan earned his B.Pharm. in 2017 and his M.Pharm. in Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology from the University of Dhaka in 2018. His earlier research involved heterocyclic synthesis, metal complexes, and biological evaluation.