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Harada Lab
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A lab that uses soft X-ray light to observe the electrons inside water and batteries.
AboutAbout the lab
Reading the "color" of electrons in matter with soft X-rays
The Harada Lab studies the electronic states of a wide range of materials using light known as soft X-rays.
The lab specializes in soft X-ray emission spectroscopy, which shines soft X-rays on a material and precisely measures the energy of the soft X-rays that come out, and reads the "color" of the electronic states element by element.
Its targets are broad, including water and aqueous solutions, solid-liquid interfaces, rechargeable battery materials, and catalysts.
Using the synchrotron radiation facilities NanoTerasu and SPring-8, the lab works on operando spectroscopy, which captures what happens inside a material while it is functioning.
Key terms
- Soft X-rays
- Light with energy between ultraviolet light and X-rays. Well suited to investigating the chemical states of light elements.
- Soft X-ray emission spectroscopy
- A method that investigates the electronic states of a material by shining soft X-rays on it and measuring the energy of the soft X-rays emitted from it.
- Operando spectroscopy
- A spectroscopic method that measures the internal states of a device such as a battery or catalyst while it is actually operating.
- Hydrogen bond
- A force that weakly binds water molecules to one another through hydrogen. It determines many of the properties of water.
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Student Presentation Award at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Synchrotron Radiation Research (JSR2026)
A master's student received the Center Director's Award at the NanoTerasu Cutting-Edge Research Poster Session
A joint study with Toray Research Center that clarified the structure of water in the pores of reverse osmosis membranes was published in Langmuir
A joint study that clarified the heterogeneity of interfacial water was published in Nature Communications
A joint study on cathode materials for iron-based all-solid-state fluoride-ion batteries was published in Advanced Energy Materials
ResearchResearch themes
The properties and functions of a material are determined by the behavior of its atoms, molecules, and electrons. Using soft X-rays at NanoTerasu and SPring-8, the lab carries out spectroscopic research that directly observes the electronic states, chemical states, and vibrational states of matter.
*Illustrative imageWater, interfacial water, and nanoscale liquids
Using soft X-ray emission spectroscopy, the lab investigates the hydrogen-bond network of water and its microscopic heterogeneity through its electronic states. Focusing on water at material interfaces, such as in nanopores, in nanobubble water, and in skin membranes, the lab also works to explain properties such as wetting, water repellency, and ion selectivity at the level of electronic states.
*Illustrative imageOperando spectroscopy of batteries and catalysts
The lab develops and applies operando soft X-ray spectroscopy, which measures electronic and chemical states in situ while a reaction is taking place, for targets such as rechargeable battery electrodes, catalysts for fuel cells and water electrolysis, and photocatalysts. It works on analyzing the mechanism of all-solid-state fluoride-ion rechargeable batteries and on research into oxygen evolution catalysts.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of high-resolution soft X-ray spectrometers
The lab puts great effort into building the spectrometers, sample environments, and analysis methods themselves, tailored to the phenomenon it wants to observe. It has moved instruments it developed on its own at SPring-8 to NanoTerasu, and uses its in-house spectrometer HORNET-II to measure the electronic states of a variety of materials with high precision.
*Illustrative imageTime-resolved spectroscopy linking lasers and synchrotron radiation
Using high-harmonic generation lasers, soft X-ray free-electron lasers, and synchrotron radiation, the lab is pioneering new spectroscopic methods that capture extremely fast phenomena occurring in liquids and at interfaces. This work, including femtosecond spectroscopy at the Kashiwa Campus, is carried out jointly with other labs and facilities.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Harada Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, academic specialist staff and project specialist staff, administrative assistants, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYoshihisa HaradaPublications ↗
- Assistant Professor張 文雄
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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: “Aust.-Synchrotron-Soft-X-ray-Beamline-Experimental-Station” jjron / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Water, interfacial water, and nanoscale liquids: “Water drop 001” José Manuel Suárez from Spain / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Operando spectroscopy of batteries and catalysts: “Lithium-Ion Cell cylindric” RudolfSimon / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Development of high-resolution soft X-ray spectrometers: “ID20 ESRF RIXS spectrometer” Gps1810 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Time-resolved spectroscopy linking lasers and synchrotron radiation: “Femtosecond laser filament” Onlywww / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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