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Energy and Resource Circulation Science Lab
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A photocatalysis lab that uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into useful substances.
AboutAbout the lab
Turning sunlight into fuel with photocatalysts
The Yoshida Lab specializes in the chemistry of catalysts and photocatalysts.
The lab researches and develops catalysts and photocatalysts to help solve problems of resources, the environment, and energy.
It works on everything from preparing catalysts and testing reactions to analyzing their structures and mechanisms.
Key terms
- Photocatalyst
- A material that drives a chemical reaction when it receives light, without itself being changed. It can be used in reactions such as producing hydrogen from water
- Artificial photosynthesis
- Producing fuels and other substances from carbon dioxide and water using the energy of light, as plants do in photosynthesis
- First-principles calculation
- A method of computing the states of electrons in a material on a computer, using only the fundamental laws of physics
NewsLab news
A master's student received the JSR2026 Student Presentation Award at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Synchrotron Radiation Research
A master's student received the Young Researcher Encouragement Award at the FY2025 Academic Conference of the Japan Society of Materials Science
The Yoshida Lab was established
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to develop technologies that make effective use of sunlight and achieve material cycles with a low environmental burden. Centered on hydrogen production and artificial photosynthesis (carbon dioxide reduction) using photocatalysts, it prepares photocatalysts and works to clarify how they function.
*Illustrative imageTurning carbon dioxide into fuel with photocatalysts
This research uses the energy of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into fuels and useful chemicals. Using metal oxide photocatalysts loaded with metal nanoparticles such as silver, the lab has succeeded in producing carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water.
*Illustrative imagePhotocatalysts that produce hydrogen under visible light
The lab studies photocatalytic reactions that produce hydrogen from water and biomass. Because many photocatalysts work only under ultraviolet light, it modifies them, for example by adding ions or metal nanoparticles, so that they also work under visible light.
*Illustrative imageStudying and designing photocatalysts through computation
Using first-principles calculations, the lab investigates how electrons behave inside the photocatalytic materials it has prepared. It evaluates the energy states created by added ions and metal nanoparticles, as well as electron transfer at the surface, and uses the results to understand and improve photocatalysts.
*Illustrative imageAnalytical methods that reveal where catalysts do their work
Combining synchrotron radiation spectroscopy with electron microscopy, the lab develops analytical techniques that reveal the atomic arrangement and electronic state of the parts of a catalyst where the reaction occurs (active sites). By observing catalysts in situ during reactions, it also clarifies the reaction mechanisms.
MembersFaculty
The Yoshida Lab consists of faculty members and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorTomoko Yoshida
- Assistant ProfessorMuneaki Yamamoto
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: “Chemistry Laboratory - Bench” Jean-Pierre from Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire (Nièvre, Burgundy region), France / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Turning carbon dioxide into fuel with photocatalysts: “Secretary Chu Visits Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis” ENERGY.GOV / Public domain (cropped)
- Photocatalysts that produce hydrogen under visible light: “Water splitting with a photocatalyst” Kavin Teenakul / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Studying and designing photocatalysts through computation: “Uraninite crystal structure (Wyckoff 1963) polyhedra model crystallographic standard alignment” Ra'ike (Wikipedia) / CC0 (cropped)
- Analytical methods that reveal where catalysts do their work: “TXPES beamline at SESAME” Erkcan / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Nuclear Measurement Engineering Lab): “Experiment using an electronic neutron generator” Idaho National Laboratory / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Energy Nanomaterials Creation Lab): “View of equipment in Vacuum Laboratory, Sample Operations Area, LRL bldg 37 (S68-25204)” NASA Johnson Space Center / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Energy Quantum Materials Science Lab): “Transmission Electron Microscope” Juraj Kubica from Bratislava, Slovakia / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Applied Isotope Science Lab): “Nuclear Fusion Reactor ( )” Steve Jurvetson from Los Altos, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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