Rate My Professor Kala Sankaran

Kala Sankaran serves as Senior Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry, underscoring her expertise in the discipline. Sankaran's academic interests lie in analytical chemistry and chemical education, areas where she has actively contributed through research and scholarship.

Her research employs advanced techniques such as matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy and ab initio theoretical studies to investigate molecular conformations, non-covalent interactions, and cation effects on structures. Notable publications include "Infrared Multiple Photon Dissociation Action Spectroscopy and Theoretical Studies of Triethyl Phosphate Complexes: Effects of Protonation and Sodium Cationization on Structure," co-authored with Kodumudi Subramaniam Viswanathan and C.K. Mathews, which analyzes structural changes in phosphate complexes upon protonation and sodium binding. Another key work is "Conformations of Trimethyl Phosphite: A Matrix Isolation Infrared and ab Initio Study," with N. Ramanathan, C. V. S. Brahmmananda Rao, and Kalyansundaram Sundararajan, detailing the conformational analysis of trimethyl phosphite. Sankaran has also explored interactions in "Can PCl3 interact through Phosphorous with π-cloud of Pyrrole," a study on phosphorus-π cloud binding. Further contributions encompass "A 1,8-naphthimide-based Fluorescent Probe for Analyzing DMF/H2O Composition," developing tools for solvent analysis, and investigations into uranyl pyridine-dicarboxylate compounds featuring clustered water molecules and luminescence from Eu3+ and uranyl complexes in solvents like acetonitrile. Additional research covers photo-oxidation of trimethyl phosphite to trimethyl phosphate in N2, O2, and para-H2 matrices. Through these efforts, Sankaran has advanced knowledge in physical inorganic chemistry, spectroscopy, and coordination compounds.