Pverma | IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi
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Research Areas

Semiconductor photocatalysts for hydrogen generation from storage materials Porous materials to confine nanocatalysts for better stability and selectivity in solar fuel production Developing eco-friendly methods for hydrogen peroxide production from water and oxygen, as an alternative to traditional energy-intensive processes

Biosketch

Dr. Priyanka Verma is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and a visiting faculty member at IIT Delhi - Abu Dhabi. Before joining IIT Delhi, Dr. Verma was a tenure-track assistant professor in the Faculty of Engineering at Shizuoka University, Japan. She received her B.Sc. Hons. and M.Sc. in Chemistry from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, respectively. She earned her Ph.D. (2017) from the Graduate School of Engineering and later served as an assistant professor (2017–2019) at Osaka University, Japan. Dr. Verma's notable awards include the Institute Gold Medal at IIT-Hyderabad (2014), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Fellowship for Ph.D. (2014–2017), Early-Career Scientists Research Grant from JSPS (2019), Royal Society-Newton International Fellowship (2019–2021), and JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship (2021–2022). Her research focuses on developing unique photoactive plasmonic nanomaterials for energy and environmental applications.

Awards and Recognitions
  • Distinguished Lectureship Award at the CSJ Asian International Symposium, 106th Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan, Nihon University, Japan, March 2026
  • ICC2024 Young Researcher Award, International Association of Catalysis Societies (IACS), March 2024 [50 researchers selected from 22 different countries]
  • Selected as one of the top 75 Women in SHE IS - 75 WOMEN IN CHEMISTRY to be featured in the fourth edition of She Is by the Government of India & the Royal Society of Chemistry, Sept. 2023
  • Best Oral Presentation Award at the International Conference on Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (SusChemE2.0) held at ICT, Mumbai, Sept. 2023
  • Young Researcher Award, 3rd Next Generation Plasmon Chemistry Challenge Symposium, Japan, June 2023
  • Best Presentation Award (International Session) at 52nd Petroleum Petrochemical Symposium of JPI, Nagano, Japan, Nov. 2022
  • Young Excellent Lecture Award during 40th Solid-Surface Photochemistry Debate (第40回固体・表面光化学討論会) (Online), Dec 2021
  • Excellent Research Award at Osaka-Shanghai Joint Workshop for Energy/Environmental Materials and Applications (Online meeting), Jan 2021
  • 10th Green and Sustainable Chemistry GSC Student Travel Grant Award 2017, Japan Association for Chemical Innovation, May 2017
  • Best Oral Presentation Award at Asia Pacific Congress on Catalysis, APCAT-7, Mumbai, India, Jan 2017
  • Best Poster Presentation Award in Catalyst Club Meeting, Kansai University, Oct. 2016
  • Travel grant by Catalysis Society of Japan, Sept. 2016
  • JMCC Student Oral Presentation Awards at 26th IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry, Osaka, Japan, April 2016
  • IIT Hyderabad Institute Gold medal for highest overall CGPA in M.Sc. (Class of 2014), Aug. 2014
  • Silver Medal for the highest CGPA in M.Sc. Chemistry (Class of 2014), IIT Hyderabad, Aug. 2014
  • Academic Excellence Award in Chemistry at IIT Hyderabad, March 2013
  • [Fellowships]
  • Royal Society-Newton Alumni Fellowship, 2023-2026
  • Young Faculty Incentive Fellowship, IIT Delhi, 2023-2026
  • JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship (Standard), Osaka University, Japan, 2021
  • Royal Society-Newton International Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Southampton, UK, 2019
  • IIT Hyderabad Friendship Fellowship for Ph.D., Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2014
  • CSIR-NET-UGC JRF, All India Rank 044/736, Dec 2014
  • Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), Chemistry, All India Rank 114, Feb 2014
Recent Publications
  • Priyanka, Rashmi, Hideyuki Kawasoko, Soichi Kikkawa, Seiji Yamazoe, Ryo Watanabe, Choji Fukuhara, and Priyanka Verma*, Defect-Engineered Pd/WO3-x Nanostructures with Tunable Morphology for Enhanced Visible-NIR Light-Driven Catalysis, Catal. Sci. Technol. 2026, 16, 1220-1229. [Front Cover]
  • Choji Fukuhara, Hiroto Naiki, Hiroshi Akama, Yuki Yamada, Priyanka Verma, Ryo Watanabe, Multi-stage structured catalyst system for post-treatment of GHG exhausted from industrial processes, Sustain. Energy Fuels, 2026, 10, 211-226. [Front Cover]
  • Suhaib Alam, Chetan Rathi, Dimple, Keisuke Tsushiro, Fumiaki Amano, and Priyanka Verma*, Synergistic Effects of Morphology and Interface Engineering in WO3/TiO2 for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation, Chem. Asian J., 2026, 21, e70918.
  • Mathivathani J R, Himanshu Sharma, Kohsuke Mori, Hiromi Yamashita, and Priyanka Verma*, Photocatalytic hydrogen generation from formic acid: Understanding mechanistic insights and recent trends, J. Photochem. Photobio C, 2025, 65, 100725.
  • Dimple, Surya Pratap Singh, Fumiaki Amano, Kosuke Beppu, Ryo Watanabe, Choji Fukuhara, and Priyanka Verma*, Visible-NIR Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution from Ammonia Borane Using Defect-Engineered Pd/WO3-x Catalyst, ChemCatChem, 2025, e00795.
  • Suhaib Alam, Hiromi Yamashita, and Priyanka Verma*, Unveiling the critical role of high/low-index facets in nanostructured energy materials for enhancing the photoelectrochemical water splitting, ChemCatChem, 2025, e202401672.
  • Ryo Watanabe, Priyanka Verma, Hiroshi Akama, and Choji Fukuhara, Redox mechanism by lattice sulphur in an Fe-based catalyst for propane dehydrogenation with H2S co-feeding, RSC Sustainability, 2025, 3, 4087-4097.
  • Dimple, Priyanka, Ryo Watanabe, Choji Fukuhara, Hiromi Yamashita, and Priyanka Verma*, Design, synthesis, and applications of plasmonic semiconductor WO3-x photocatalyst, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2024, 14, 4775-4798. [Back Cover]
  • Ajay, Dimple, Priyanka Verma* and Hiromi Yamashita, Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide synthesis: state-of-the-art design, performance and challenges, ChemCatalysis, 2024, 4, 100870.
  • Priyanka Verma*, Yasutaka Kuwahara, Kohsuke Mori, Ryo Watanabe, Choji Fukuhara, and Hiromi Yamashita, Plasmonic heterojunction photocatalysts for hydrogen generation: a mini-review, Energy&Fuels, 2023, 37, 23, 17652-17666.