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Energy Functional Design Engineering Lab
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A lab that develops batteries and catalysts by making use of ion movement inside solids.
AboutAbout the lab
Storing and converting energy with ions moving inside solids.
The Nakamura Lab studies technologies for storing and converting energy, such as rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, and water electrolysis.
Building on solid state ionics, which deals with the phenomenon of ions moving inside solids, the lab applies ideas from materials science and electrochemistry.
The lab works on rechargeable batteries that store a lot of energy and last a long time, efficient energy conversion, and new methods for synthesizing materials that have not existed before.
The term "solid state ionics" was coined and popularized worldwide by Professor Emeritus Takehiko Takahashi of Nagoya University.
Key terms
- Solid state ionics
- The field that deals with the phenomenon of ions moving inside solids and the electrochemical phenomena that accompany it
- Oxygen evolution reaction
- The reaction in which oxygen forms at an electrode during water electrolysis. It governs the overall rate of the hydrogen-producing reaction
- Defect structure
- The state of places in a crystal where atoms are missing or swapped. It affects properties such as battery performance
NewsLab news
Paper on a fluorine doping method using the topochemical approach published in Electrochemistry
Paper on oxygen release from sodium-ion battery cathodes published in Small
Professor Nakamura received the Step-Up Award of the 2026 New Chemical Technology Research Encouragement Prize
Co-authored paper published in ACS Applied Energy Materials
Co-authored paper published in Solid State Ionics
ResearchResearch themes
Aiming to solve energy and environmental problems, the lab develops rechargeable batteries, catalysts, and new materials synthesis technologies, using solid state ionics as its academic foundation. Solid state ionics is the field that deals with the movement of ions inside solids and the electrochemical phenomena that accompany it, and it underpins rechargeable batteries and fuel cells.
*Illustrative imageElectrode materials for rechargeable batteries
For next-generation rechargeable batteries such as lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, the lab develops reliable electrode materials that can store a lot of energy. It also works to understand how a material's defect structure affects battery performance, and the phenomenon in which oxygen is released from crystals.
*Illustrative imageElectrocatalysts for producing hydrogen
When hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis, the oxygen evolution reaction determines the overall rate. Based on solid state ionics, the lab clarifies the reaction mechanisms that determine catalyst performance and develops catalysts that promote the oxygen evolution reaction.
*Illustrative imageControlling defects electrochemically
Using electrochemical cells made of ion conductors as reaction vessels for materials synthesis, the lab creates new materials whose defect structures are controlled electrochemically. A distinctive feature is that simply applying a voltage can create extreme reaction conditions that conventional technologies cannot achieve.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nakamura Lab are faculty members, assistants, and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorTakashi Nakamura
- Assistant ProfessorMasataka Yoshimoto
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: “Lithium-cobalt-oxide-3D-polyhedra” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Electrode materials for rechargeable batteries: “Lithium-Ion Cell cylindric” RudolfSimon / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Electrocatalysts for producing hydrogen: “Solid oxide electrolyser cell prefab” EERE / Public domain (cropped)
- Controlling defects electrochemically: “Kappa-carbide structure (perovskite)” Robert Rauschen / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (ナノイオニクス設計工学研究グループ): “Lithium Ion Battery Cell - Cylindrical Cell, Prismatic Cell, Pouch Cell” CRBAman / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (計算材料物性学研究グループ): “Titania supported gold nanocluster” Kronber1 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (エネルギー・環境材料創成工学研究グループ): “Hexagon solar cells” Wikideas1 / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (材料複合プロセス工学研究グループ): “Iss071e ) ---A view the Metal 3D printer that manufactures experimental samples printed with stainless steel aboard the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory module” NASA Johnson Space Center / Public domain (cropped)
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