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Sakamoto Lab
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A lab developing materials that turn infrared light into an energy resource.
AboutAbout the lab
Turning cities into forests: taking on the impossible!
The Sakamoto Lab (Metal-Organic Hybrid Materials Research Group) studies functional materials and energy conversion systems that use infrared light as light energy.
Infrared light accounts for about 46% of solar energy, but no effective way to use it has been established in modern society.
The lab takes on research themes that have not yet been realized, including its "research to turn cities into forests," which involves developing transparent solar cells that generate electricity from infrared light.
Through collaboration with OPTMASS Inc., a startup spun out of the lab, students can also experience firsthand how cutting-edge research is put into practical use in society.
Key terms
- Infrared light
- Light that makes up about 46% of solar energy but for which no effective way of use has been established
- Localized surface plasmon resonance
- The collective motion of electrons on the surface of a nanoparticle that occurs when it is irradiated with light
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award (Poster) at the 2026 Symposium on Photochemistry
Professor Sakamoto received the Japanese Photochemistry Association Award
A paper by Professor Sakamoto and Assistant Professor Sano was published in J. Phys. Chem. Lett.
A paper by a doctoral student and Professor Sakamoto was published in J. Phys. Chem. C
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to develop functional materials and energy conversion systems that use infrared light as light energy. It also works on controlling the crystal structure of nanoparticles with light and on materials that combine organic molecules with inorganic nanoparticles.
*Illustrative imageTurning infrared light into an energy resource
The lab develops materials and energy conversion systems that use infrared light, for which no effective use has been established, as light energy. Because infrared light does not compete with natural photosynthesis, the lab believes this will enable energy conversion that coexists with nature.
*Illustrative imageControlling the crystal structure of nanoparticles with light
When light hits a nanoparticle, localized surface plasmon resonance occurs, in which electrons on the nanoparticle surface move collectively. The lab discovered a phenomenon in which this causes the atoms inside the nanoparticle to move cooperatively in the same direction, and it is expected to be applied to transparent variable-resistance infrared sensors and more.
*Illustrative imageComposite materials of organic molecules and inorganic nanoparticles
The lab creates new organic molecules and inorganic nanoparticles with optical functions and combines them to merge the functions of both. It aims to develop materials such as those that generate two excitons from a single photon and those with a high two-photon absorption cross section.
MembersFaculty
The Sakamoto Lab consists of faculty members and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasanori Sakamoto
- Assistant ProfessorKeito Sano
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Array of solar panels - geograph.org.uk - 8004553” Alan Hughes / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Turning infrared light into an energy resource: “Gold Nanoparticles” Tae Joon Cho Sherrie Elzey Vincent A. Hackley Stephen (San-Min) Lee Robert I. MacCuspie Julian Taurozzi De-Hao Tsai / Public domain (cropped)
- Controlling the crystal structure of nanoparticles with light: “Platinum nanoparticles” PieroSpeleo / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Composite materials of organic molecules and inorganic nanoparticles: “Gold and silver nanoparticles in labelled Petri dishes” Drkirstyross / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Quantum Beam Physics (Hosokai) Lab): “The EMMA particle accelerator” Armduino / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamada Lab): “Philips BT6000A-12 - Lithium Ion Battery ICR” Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Quantum Beam Materials Science (Kozawa) Lab): “JEOL Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) ( )” Simon Fraser University - Communications & Marketing / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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