RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team

Team Leader: Ryuhei Nakamura (D.Sci.)

Japanese Page

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)