RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team
Team Leader: Ryuhei Nakamura (D.Sci.)
Research Summary

We work on the development of biologically inspired catalysts and their application to energy conversion and production systems. Specifically, we attempt to exploit the nature’s ingenuities of multielectron catalytic reaction, electron/proton transport, metabolic regulation, flexible response to external stimuli, and the robust energy management in a deep sea environment to develop the novel materials and systems necessary to effectively manage renewable energy sources.
Main Research Fields
- Chemistry
Related Research Fields
- Environmental Science
- Biology
Keywords
- Utilization of solar energy
- Environmental diagnosis for marine ecosystems
- Power generation at deep-sea
- Monitoring and controlling microbial metabolisms
Selected Publications
Papers with an asterisk(*) are based on research conducted outside of RIKEN.
- 1.K. Jin, H. Seo, T. Hayashi, M. Balamurugan, D. Jeong, Y. K. Go, J. S. Hong, K. H. Cho, H. Kakizaki, N. Bonnet-Mercier, M. G. Kim, S. H. Kim, R. Nakamura, K. T. Nam:
"Mechanistic investigation of water oxidation catalyzed by uniform, assembled MnO nanoparticles"
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139, 2277-2285 (2017) - 2.Y. Li, A. Yamaguchi, M. Yamamoto, K. Takai, R. Nakamura:
"Molybdenum sulfide: a bioinspired electrocatalyst for dissimilatory ammonia synthesis with geoelectrical current"
J. Phys. Chem. C 121, 2154-2164 (2017) - 3.T. Ishii, S. Kawaichi, H. Nakagawa, K. Hashimoto, R. Nakamura:
"From chemolithoautotrophs to electrolithoautotrophs: CO2 fixation by Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria coupled with direct uptake of electrons from solid electron sources"
Front. Microbiol. 6:994 (2015) - 4.R. Ang, A. U. Khan, N. Tsujii, K. Takai, R. Nakamura, T. Mori:
"Thermoelectricity generation and electron-magnon scattering in a natural chalcopyrite mineral from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent"
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 54, 12909-12913 (2015) - 5.A. Yamaguchi, R. Inuzuka, T. Takashima, T. Hayashi, K. Hashimoto, R. Nakamura:
"Regulating proton-coupled electron transfer for efficient water splitting by manganese oxides at neutral pH"
Nat. Commun., 5:4256 (2014) - 6.A. Okamoto, K. Saito, K. Inoue, K. H. Nealson, K. Hashimoto, R. Nakamura:
"Uptake of self-secreted flavins as bound cofactors for extracellular electron transfer in Geobacter species"
Energy Environ. Sci. 7, 1357-1361 (2014) - 7.M. Yamamoto, R. Nakamura, K. Oguri, S. Kawagucci, K. Suzuki, K. Hashimoto, K. Takai:
"Generation of electricity and illumination by an environmental fuel cell in deep-sea hydrothermal vents"
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 52, 10758-10761 (2013) - 8.*A. Okamoto, K. Hashimoto, K. H. Nealson, R. Nakamura:
"Rate enhancement of bacterial extracellular electron transport involves bound flavin semiquinones"
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 110, 7856-7861 (2013) - 9.*T. Takashima, K. Hashimoto, R. Nakamura:
"Mechanisms of pH-dependent activity for water oxidation to molecular oxygen by MnO2 electrocatalysts"
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 134, 1519-1527 (2012) - 10.*R. Nakamura, T. Takashima, S. Kato, K. Takai, M. Yamamoto, K. Hashimoto:
"Electrical current generation across a black smoker chimney"
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 7692-7694 (2010)
Recent Research Results
Apr. 3, 2020
A friendlier way to deal with nitrate pollutionApr. 14, 2017
Smaller is better for water-splitting catalystMar. 10, 2017
Probing the stability of photosynthesisAug. 8, 2014
Bioinspired catalyst splits waterJun. 30, 2014
Insights from nature for more efficient water splittingOct. 25, 2013
Natural deep-sea batteries
Related Links
- Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team|RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
- Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team
- October 25, 2013: RIKEN RESEARCH
Natural deep-sea batteries - Researchers Interview:
Electron Life – Seeking biological electron transfer in the field of electro-microbiology - June 23, 2017: RIKEN RESEARCH
New energy ideas from the sea’s dark depths
Lab Members
Principal investigator
- Ryuhei Nakamura
- Team Leader
Core members
- Li Yamei
- Research Scientist
- Nobuaki Shono
- Postdoctoral Researcher
- Daoping He
- International Program Associate
- Ailong Li
- International Program Associate
- Nadege Bonnet
- Technical Staff II
Careers
Position | Deadline |
---|---|
Seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher (W20212) | Open until filled |
Contact Information
S103, Sustainable Resource Science Building,
2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
Email: ryuhei.nakamura [at] riken.jp