Research Theme
Research on the storage and recycling of carbon dioxide and the production of hydrogen energy using visible light energy from sunlight as the driving force and composite systems with various catalytic materials, mainly biocatalysts is being carried out in Biocatalyst Research Division.
Biodegradable plastic precursors production using carbon dioxide as a raw material with light energy
Using a composite system consisting of a biocatalyst, a visible light absorbing dye, and a homogeneous catalyst, we aim to synthesize 3-hydroxybutyric acid and lactic acid, which are the raw materials for biodegradable plastics (polyhydroxybutyric acid and polylactic acid), from carbon dioxide, acetone, and acetaldehyde using visible light energy, which accounts for most of the sunlight, as the driving force.
New Journal of Chemistry, 2021,45, 11461-11465, Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2021,5, 6004-6013, Chemical Communications 2022, 58, 11131-11134, Sustainable Energy & Fuels 2023, 7, 360–368, Catalysis Surveys from Asia 2023, 27, 67-74, Bulletin of the Chemical society of Japan 2023, 96, 328–330, Green Chemistry 2023, 25, 2699–2710
Production of engineering plastic precursors with C=C bonds using carbon dioxide as a raw material and light energy
Using a composite system consisting of many kinds of biocatalysts, visible light absorbing pigments, and homogeneous catalysts, we aim to synthesize fumaric acid, a raw material for biodegradable plastics and engineering plastics, from carbon dioxide and bio-derived materials using visible light energy as the driving force. There have been no examples of synthesizing organic molecules with C=C bonds in an artificial photosynthetic system, so we aim to establish a new artificial photosynthetic system.
Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 2022, 7, 1931-1935, RSC Sustainability 2023, 1, 90–9, Sustainable Energy & Fuels 2023, 7, 355–359, New Journal of Chemistry, 2023, 47, 17679-17684, RSC Sustainability, 2023, 1, 1874 - 1882, Dalton Transactions, 2024, 53, 418-422.
Production of amino acids as precursors of nylon, using ammonia and carbon dioxide as raw materials and light energy
Using a composite system consisting of a biocatalyst, a visible light absorbing pigment, and a homogeneous catalyst, we aim to synthesize L-alanine, a raw material for nylon-based biodegradable plastics, from carbon dioxide, ammonia, and bio-derived materials using visible light energy as the driving force. There have been few examples of C-N bond formation in artificial photosynthesis systems, so we aim to establish a new artificial photosynthesis system.
Development of NADH regeneration system using light energy and hydrogen gas
Since oxidoreductases require the expensive NADH as a coenzyme, a system is required in which NADH is immediately reduced to NADH and reused after it is oxidized to NAD+ upon the reduction of the substrate. In natural photosynthesis, an NADH regeneration system is built into photosystem I using visible light energy. In our laboratory, we are working on the construction of an NADH regeneration system using visible light energy and hydrogen gas, with colloidal metal particles or metal particles as catalysts.
Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2022, 6, 2581–2592，New Journal of Chemistry, 2024, 48, 506-510.
Development of catalysts for efficient decomposition of the energy carrier formic acid into hydrogen
Formic acid has attracted attention as a hydrogen energy carrier molecule. In our laboratory, we have developed homogeneous catalysts based on colloidal platinum, aiming to efficiently decompose formic acid into hydrogen. In addition, we have developed a system that can freely decompose formic acid into hydrogen using light energy by incorporating a composite catalyst system consisting of visible light absorbing molecules and biocatalysts.
Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2022,6, 3717-3721, New Journal of Chemistry, 2021, 45, 9324-9333, New Journal of Chemistry, 2020, 44, 14334-14338, Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2020, 4, 3458-3466