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Materials Transformation Lab
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A lab that uses precious metals such as gold to study catalysts that transform substances in an energy-saving way.
AboutAbout the lab
New catalysts from combinations of gold and oxides.
The Materials Transformation Lab (Murayama Lab) studies solid catalysts that combine metals and oxides.
Bulk gold is chemically inert, but as nanoparticles 2–5 nm in diameter it shows rich catalytic activity.
The lab is exploring ways to make precious metals such as gold, platinum, and silver work as clusters or even single atoms, which are smaller than nanoparticles.
The lab also gives functions to the oxide supports on which the precious metals are placed, and creates new catalysts from the synergistic effect between the two.
Key terms
- Solid catalyst
- A catalyst that works while remaining a solid, without mixing with gaseous or liquid reactants
- Nanoparticle
- An extremely small particle about 1 to 100 nanometers in diameter (1 nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter)
- Support
- A material that holds and supports the metal acting as the catalyst. Oxides are often used
NewsLab news
Results of a collaborative study accepted by Langmuir
Results of a collaborative study involving Associate Professor Oda accepted by Environmental Science & Technology
Won an Outstanding Poster Award at the 64th Aurora Seminar
Results of an international collaborative study accepted by Journal of Hazardous Materials
Results of an international collaborative study accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to precisely design solid catalysts that transform substances in an energy-saving way. It is strong in gold nanoparticle catalysts and also works on developing catalysts that contribute to the nitrogen and carbon cycles.
*Illustrative imageCleaning the air with gold nanoparticle catalysts
Gold is a stable metal that does not rust, and it was long thought to interact hardly at all with other molecules. Yet when it is made into nanoparticles of 5 nm or smaller, it oxidizes carbon monoxide even at room temperature. The lab works on developing catalysts that render carbon monoxide harmless at room temperature, as well as on their applications and on elucidating the reaction mechanism.
*Illustrative imageCreating gold single-atom catalysts
Depending on the support, it is difficult to keep gold on it as nanoparticles of 5 nm or smaller and to maintain that size over long use. Going a step further, the lab investigates what catalytic activity single-atom catalysts, in which gold is dispersed as individual atoms, show. It designs supports precisely so that gold is scattered in an atomic state.
*Illustrative imageRemoving nitrogen oxides from exhaust gas at low temperatures
Boiler exhaust gas contains nitrogen oxides, which cause photochemical smog and acid rain. Current denitration catalysts work only at 300°C or above, which has limited design freedom in exhaust gas treatment. In collaboration with companies, the lab developed a catalyst in which tungsten is substituted into the vanadium pentoxide framework, achieving high performance even at 100–150°C.
*Illustrative imageRendering ammonia harmless at low temperatures
Ammonia has a clear odor even at 5 ppm, so it must be removed from living environments and the atmosphere. Common catalysts work only at 200°C or above, which cannot be called energy-saving. The lab has reported that catalysts carrying gold nanoparticles and catalysts with atomically dispersed silver can convert ammonia to nitrogen with high selectivity even at low temperatures.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Materials Transformation Lab are faculty, postdoctoral researchers, administrative assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorToru Murayama
- Associate ProfessorAkira Oda
- Assistant ProfessorHiroya Ishikawa
- Project Assistant ProfessorHaifeng Wang
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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: “Gold Nanoparticles' aggregation” Nadiia Honcharenko / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Cleaning the air with gold nanoparticle catalysts: “Platinum nanoparticles” PieroSpeleo / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Creating gold single-atom catalysts: “Scanning Tunneling Microscope Structure ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Removing nitrogen oxides from exhaust gas at low temperatures: “Huntley Station, Tonawanda, New York ( )” Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Rendering ammonia harmless at low temperatures: “Ammonia-3D-balls-A” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Physical Chemistry Lab): “Nanoscale Plasmonic Resonator Structures ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Quantum Chemistry Lab): “Benzene IBO” Alicesu / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Theoretical Chemistry Lab): “Potential Energy Surface for Water” AimNature / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Structural Chemistry Lab): “Human Oxy-Hemoglobin Protein” PDB code 2DN1 1.25 a resolution crystal structures of human haemoglobin in the oxy, deoxy and carbonmonoxy forms. Park, S.-Y., Yokoyama, T., Shibayama, N., Shiro, Y., Tame, J.R. (2006) J Mol Biol 360: 690-701 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb. Image created using JSmol (Javascript) / CC0 (cropped)
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