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Maeda Lab
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A lab that studies artificial photosynthesis, using sunlight to split water and make fuel.
AboutAbout the lab
Following curiosity and enjoying research.
The Maeda Lab studies photocatalysts that convert the energy of sunlight into chemical energy, in other words artificial photosynthesis.
The lab makes semiconductor photocatalysts that split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and photocatalysts that combine metal complexes with semiconductors to fix carbon dioxide.
Building on photochemistry, catalytic chemistry, materials chemistry, and electrochemistry, the lab aims to convert sunlight into chemical energy efficiently.
Key terms
- Photocatalyst
- A substance that absorbs light and uses that energy to drive a chemical reaction. Some split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
- Artificial photosynthesis
- Technology that, like photosynthesis in plants, uses the energy of sunlight to make useful substances from water and carbon dioxide.
- Cocatalyst
- A substance loaded onto the surface of a photocatalyst to make reactions such as hydrogen production occur more easily.
NewsLab news
A master's student won the Impressive Poster Award at APC2026
A doctoral student won a poster award at the international conference TOCAT-10
A doctoral student won the Best Poster Award at IPS-25
A review on dye-sensitized photocatalysts was published in Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn.
A paper by an alumnus and an Assistant Professor was published in ChemSusChem (collaborative research)
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies photocatalysts that efficiently convert the energy of sunlight into chemical energy, that is, artificial photosynthesis. It works on the reaction that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen and on the reaction that fixes carbon dioxide, using semiconductor powder photocatalysts, hybrid photocatalysts of metal complexes and semiconductors, and photoelectrochemical cells.
*Illustrative imagePhotocatalysts containing multiple anions
The lab focuses on mixed-anion compounds, which contain more than one kind of anion in a single compound, and creates new materials that absorb visible light and split water as photocatalysts.
*Illustrative imageNanoparticles that assist hydrogen production
The lab develops cocatalysts, which are loaded onto the surface of a photocatalyst to promote the reaction. It has created new types of cocatalysts, such as core/shell noble metal/chromium oxide nanoparticles.
*Illustrative imageWater-splitting photocatalysts using nanosheets
The lab uses thin nanosheets, obtained by exfoliating layered metal oxides, as photocatalysts. By loading platinum nanoclusters dispersed in the gaps between the layers, it made a composite material that splits water well.
*Illustrative imageNanosheet photocatalysts that use visible light with dyes
The lab adsorbed a visible-light-absorbing dye (a ruthenium complex) onto nanosheets to make a hydrogen-evolving photocatalyst. It found that combining this with an oxygen-evolving photocatalyst achieves overall water splitting under visible light.
MembersFaculty
The Maeda Lab consists of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, administrative assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKazuhiko MaedaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorMegumi OkazakiPublications ↗
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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: “U.S. Department of Energy - Science - )” U.S. Department of Energy from United States / Public domain (cropped)
- Photocatalysts containing multiple anions: “Crystal-GaN” Opto-p / Public domain (cropped)
- Nanoparticles that assist hydrogen production: “Core-shell nanoparticle” Magnin yann / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Water-splitting photocatalysts using nanosheets: “BaBi4Ti4O15” Bubenik / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Nanosheet photocatalysts that use visible light with dyes: “Tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II)-chloride-powder” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (近藤研究室): “Vaccuum line IMG 20230205” Jonathansammy / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (豊田研究室): “Anthracen” H. H. W. Preuß / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (沖本研究室): “Ferroelectric domains at a PZT grain boundary ( )” Oak Ridge National Laboratory / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (南研究室): “Penicillia on Petri dish” Convallaria majalis / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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