RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team

Team Director: Ryuhei Nakamura (D.Sc.)

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.

For more information, please visit the following link: Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team

Main Research Fields

Chemistry

Related Research Fields

Environmental Science
Complex Systems
Biology

Keywords

electrocatalyst and catalyst theory
enzymatic reaction
H2 production by water electrolysis
energy conversion at deep-sea hydrothermal vents
Environmental diagnosis for marine ecosystems

Selected Publications

1.T. Lim, H. Ooka, Y. Yu, T. Murakami, S. Wada, and R. Nakamura:
"Hydration entropy of cations regulates chloride ion diffusion during electrochemical chlorine evolution"
Nat. Chem., 18, 552–560. (2026)
2.A. Li, H. Ooka, S. Kong, K. Adachi, Y. Zhang, K. Fushimi, S. Hamamoto, M. Oura, S. H. Kim, D. Hashizume, and R. Nakamura:
"Oxygen evolution electrocatalysis resilient to voltage fluctuations"
Nat. Sustain., 8, 1533-1540. (2025)
3.H. Lee, T. Okumura, H. Ooka, K. Adachi, T. Hikima, K. Hirata, Y. Kawano, H. Matsuura, M. Yamamoto, M. Yamamoto, A. Yamaguchi, J. Lee, H. Takahashi, K. T. Nam, Y. Ohara, D. Hashizume, S. E. McGlynn, and R. Nakamura:
"Osmotic energy conversion in serpentinite-hosted deep-sea hydrothermal vents"
Nat. Commun., 15: 8193. (2024)
4.D. He, K. Adachi, D. Hashizume, and R. Nakamura:
"Copper sulfide mineral performs non-enzymatic anaerobic ammonium oxidation through a hydrazine intermediate"
Nat. Chem., 16, 1605-1611. (2024)
5.A. Li, S. Kong, K. Adachi, H. Ooka, K. Fushimi, Q. Jiang, H. Ofuchi, S. Hamamoto, M. Oura, K. Higashi, T. Kaneko, T. Uruga, N. Kawamura, D. Hashizume, and R. Nakamura:
"Atomically dispersed hexavalent iridium oxide from MnO2 reduction for oxygen evolution catalysis"
Science, 384, 6696, 666-670. (2024)
6.S. Kong, A. Li, J. Long, K. Adachi, D. Hashizume, Q. Jiang, K. Fushimi, H. Ooka, J. Xiao, and R. Nakamura:
"Acid-stable manganese oxides for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis"
Nat. Catal., 7, 252-261. (2024)
7.H. Ooka, Y. Chiba, and R. Nakamura:
"Thermodynamic principle to enhance enzymatic activity using the substrate affinity"
Nat. Commun., 14:4860. (2023)
8.D. He, H. Ooka, Y. Li, Y. Kim, A. Yamaguchi, K. Adachi, D. Hashizume, N. Yoshida, S. Toyoda, S. H. Kim, and R. Nakamura:
"Regulation of the electrocatalytic nitrogen cycle based on sequential proton-electron transfer"
Nat. Catal., 5, 798-806. (2022)
9.A. Li, S. Kong, C. Guo, H. Ooka, K. Adachi, D. Hashizume, Q. Jiang, H. Han, J. Xiao, and R. Nakamura:
"Enhancing the stability of cobalt spinel oxide towards sustainable oxygen evolution in acid"
Nat. Catal., 5, 109-118. (2022)
10.D. He, H. Ooka, Y. Kim, Y. Li, F. Jin, S. H. Kim, and R. Nakamura:
“Atomic-scale evidence for highly selective electrocatalytic N−N coupling on metallic MoS2”
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 117, 31631-31638. (2020)