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Sugiyama Lab
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The lab researches technologies that generate electricity from sunlight and produce fuels such as hydrogen.
AboutAbout the lab
Turning sunlight into fuel that can be stored and transported.
The Sugiyama Lab researches technologies that obtain electricity from sunlight with high efficiency and produce fuels such as hydrogen.
If solar energy can be stored in chemical substances in regions with strong sunlight and transported to where it is used, sunlight will become a central energy source for society.
The lab's goal is to develop highly efficient solar cells and electrochemical reaction devices for this purpose and to integrate them into a system.
At the core of the technology are semiconductor nanocrystals, and the lab carries out everything from crystal growth to the evaluation of solar cell systems in an integrated way.
Key terms
- Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy
- A method in which source gases react on a substrate to grow a semiconductor crystal as a thin layer
- Photocatalyst
- A substance that drives chemical reactions such as water splitting when exposed to light
- Band structure
- The arrangement of energy levels that electrons can occupy in a solid. It determines how a material responds to electricity and light
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies technologies that obtain electricity from sunlight with high efficiency and, through water splitting and CO2 reduction, produce solar fuels that can be stored and transported. Its work covers high-efficiency solar cells, reactions at semiconductor-solution interfaces, photocatalysts, and systems that produce chemicals from CO2.
*Illustrative imageHigh-efficiency solar cells using semiconductor nanocrystals
Incorporating quantum structures made of compound semiconductor crystals into concentrator solar cells enables power generation at more than twice the efficiency of conventional panel-type cells. The lab covers everything from crystal growth by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy to the fabrication of thin-film cells and the elucidation of the mechanisms behind the higher efficiency.
*Illustrative imageStoring sunlight through semiconductor electrochemistry
Learning from plant photosynthesis, the lab investigates the mechanisms of reactions at semiconductor-solution interfaces from the perspectives of both semiconductor physics and electrochemistry. By combining high-efficiency solar cells with electrochemical reactions, it also works on producing hydrogen and useful compounds from CO2.
*Illustrative imagePhysics of photocatalysts for hydrogen production
The lab studies photocatalysts that produce hydrogen from sunlight and water at low cost. It examines the band structure of the interface from the semiconductor to the water, designing structures informed by high-efficiency solar cells and developing new analysis methods.
*Illustrative imageSystems for producing green chemicals from CO2
The lab studies systems that reduce captured CO2 with renewable energy to produce chemicals. Drawing on knowledge of fuel cells and water electrolyzers, it develops reaction environments that efficiently produce target hydrocarbons from CO2.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Sugiyama Lab consist of faculty, Project Researchers, Visiting Senior Researchers, secretaries, and students in the doctoral program, master's program, and undergraduate program.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasakazu SugiyamaPublications ↗
- Project ProfessorKentaroh WatanabePublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorTsutomu MinegishiPublications ↗
- Project Associate ProfessorHiromu KumagaiPublications ↗
- Project Associate ProfessorJena Ajay Kumar
- Project Assistant ProfessorHassanet Sodabanlu
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: “3 MW CPV project in Golmud, China” Vinaykumar8687 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- High-efficiency solar cells using semiconductor nanocrystals: “Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) 2" wafer” La2O3 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Storing sunlight through semiconductor electrochemistry: “N-type semiconductor and liquid junction” Bhupendra122 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Physics of photocatalysts for hydrogen production: “Titanium dioxide powder dispersing in water” Pixelmaniac pictures / CC0 (cropped)
- Systems for producing green chemicals from CO2: “CO2 reduction in electrochemistry” Tiff592 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sekino Lab): “Ferrofluid in magnetic field” Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Baba Lab): “Transmission Lines at Sunset” Kkiefuik / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Fujimoto-Shimizu-Gunji-Takano-Nguyen Lab): “Wheel hub motor of an electric kick scooter, sidepanel removed (2022)” Andrez1 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ono-Inomoto-Tanabe Lab): “MAST Tokamak ( )” Eye Steel Film / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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