Toward practical application of solar hydrogen
Our mission
We study particulate photocatalysts and reaction systems for sunlight-driven water splitting toward practical application of solar hydrogen. We have focused on oxynitride, nitride, and oxysulfide semiconductor material since the very beginning and have been developing them as photocatalysts for water splitting. Some of these materials absorb sunlight sufficiently and have band structures suitable for photocatalytic water splitting. We investigate the correlation among preparation methods, physical properties, and functionality of photocatalysts to improve their performance. We are also involved in the development of reaction systems suitable for large-scale application by taking advantage of the properties of particulate materials. Through these studies, we will contribute to solving energy and environmental problems.
News
- Undergraduate students joined our laboratory
- Original research paper published in Chem. Mater (Synthesis of Narrow Bandgap Gallium Zinc Nitride Oxide Solid Solutions for Photocatalytic Water Splitting under Visible Light)
- Original research paper published in Small (Nanoparticulate TiN Loading to Promote Z-Scheme Water Splitting Using a Narrow-Bandgap Nonoxide-Based Photocatalyst Sheet)
- Original research paper published in Chem. Mater (Formation Mechanism for Particulate Y2Ti2O5S2 Photocatalyst by the Solid-State Reaction)
- Original research paper published in Nat. Commun. (Efficient and stable visible-light-driven Z-scheme overall water splitting using an oxysulfide H2 evolution photocatalyst)
- Original research paper published in Nat. Commun. (Sub-50 nm perovskite-type tantalum-based oxynitride single crystals with enhanced photoactivity for water splitting)
- Prof. Kazunari Domen and Prof. Takashi Hisatomi selected as Highly Cited Researchers 2023 by Clarivate
- Original research paper published in J. Catal. (Enhanced Z-scheme Water Splitting at Atmospheric Pressure with Suppression of Reverse Reactions Using Zr-doped BaTaO2N as Hydrogen Evolution Photocatalyst)
- Original research paper published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. (An Oxysulfide Photocatalyst Evolving Hydrogen with an Apparent Quantum Efficiency of 30% under Visible Light)
- Original research paper published in ACS Engineering AU (Production of Methane by Sunlight-Driven Photocatalytic Water Splitting and Carbon Dioxide Methanation as a Means of Artificial Photosynthesis)