Masanori Yamamoto

The combination of porphyrin as a sensitizer and a ruthenium complex as a water oxidation catalyst (WOC) is promising to exploit highly efficient molecular artificial photosynthetic systems. A covalently-linked ruthenium-based WOC-zinc porphyrin (ZnP) sensitizer dyad was assembled on a TiO₂ electrode for visible-light driven water oxidation. The water oxidation activity was found to be improved in comparison to the reference systems with the simple combination of the individual WOC an

A new subporphyrin was synthesized for use as a molecular sensitizer in electrochemical and dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical water oxidation. A photoelectrochemical cell with a TiO₂ electrode modified with the sensitizer and a molecular water oxidation catalyst generated higher photocurrent than reference cells that have electrodes modified with either the photosensitizer or the catalyst under visible light (λ > 500 nm) illumination. Oxygen evolution was confirmed after photolysis

A ruthenium complex, porphyrin sensitizer, fullerene acceptor molecular pentad has been synthesized and a long-lived hole-electron pair was achieved in aqueous solution by photoinduced multistep electron transfer: Upon irradiation by visible light, the excited-state of a zinc porphyrin (¹ ZnP*) was quenched by fullerene (C₆₀ ) to afford a radical ion pair, ^1,3 (ZnP^.+ -C₆₀^.- ). This was followed by the subsequent electron transfer

A luminescent Tb^III complex with a hexafluoroacetylacetone (hfa) ligand shows a characteristic back energy transfer (BEnT), which leads to high temperature sensitivity and potential application as a thermosensitive paint. Ligand-assisted BEnT was observed when a phosphine oxide ligand was introduced into Tb(hfa)₃ complex, which was shown to affect the activation energy (ΔE_a ) and frequency factor (A) in the BEnT process between Tb^III ion and hfa ligand

Artificial photosynthesis is of great importance in the production of clean fuels such as hydrogen from sunlight and water. In such systems, water oxidation is kinetically demanding; therefore, efficient catalysts and systems for water oxidation are required. Among the artificial systems, photosynthesis has been recently developed owing to the emergence of efficient molecular catalysts for water oxidation. This Review highlights several important concepts including electron transfer and catalysi

Durable nanostructured cathode materials for efficient all-solid-state Li-S batteries were prepared using a conductive single-walled 3D graphene with a large pore volume as the cathode support material. At high loadings of the active material (50-60 wt %), microscale phase segregation was observed with a conventional cathode support material during the charging/discharging processes but this was suppressed by the confinement of insulating sulfur into the mesopores of the elastic and flexible nan

Precise template synthesis will realize three-dimensionally ordered nanoporous graphenes (NPGs) with a spatially controlled seamless graphene structure and fewer edges. These structural features result in superelastic nature, high electrochemical stability, high electrical conductivity, and fast diffusion of gases and ions at the same time. Such innovative 3D graphene materials are conducive to solving energy-related issues for a better future. To further improve the attractive properties of NPG

Diazaporphyrin-C60 linked dyad has been prepared to assess intrinsic electron transfer properties of diazaporphyrins for the first time. The dyad exhibited the efficient formation of a charge-separated state which has a lifetime 4× longer than that of the corresponding porphyrin-C60 linked dyad with the same spacer. In accordance with this elongation, a SnO2 nanostructured electrode modified with the diazaporphyrin-C60 dyad also revealed enhanced photocurrent generation in the visible region in

Abstract A ruthenium complex, porphyrin sensitizer, fullerene acceptor molecular pentad has been synthesized and a long‐lived hole–electron pair was achieved in aqueous solution by photoinduced multistep electron transfer: Upon irradiation by visible light, the excited‐state of a zinc porphyrin ( 1 ZnP*) was quenched by fullerene (C 60 ) to afford a radical ion pair, 1,3 (ZnP .+ ‐C 60 .− ). This was followed by the subsequent electron transfer from a water oxidation catalyst unit (Ru II ) to ZnP

Abstract Lanthanide (Ln3+) complexes composed of luminescent Eu3+ complex and joint metal blocks (Al3+, Zn2+ and Pd2+ complexes) are reported. The Eu3+ complexes [Eu(hfa)3(dppy)2PdCl2]n (Eu-Pd), [Eu(hfa)3(dppy)2ZnCl2]n (Eu-Zn) and [Eu(hfa)3(dppy)4AlCl3]n (Eu-Al) (hfa: hexafluoroacetylacetonato, dppy: 4-pyridyldiphenylphosphine oxide) were synthesized by the complexation of [Eu(hfa)3(H2O)2] with [MCln(dppy)m] (M = Pd2+, Zn2+ and Al3+). These predicted structures were estimated using single-crysta

γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles promote pyrolytic carbon deposition of CH₄ at temperatures higher than 800 °C to give single-walled nanoporous graphene (NPG) materials without the need for transition metals as reaction centers. To accelerate the development of efficient reactions for NPG synthesis, we have investigated early-stage CH₄ activation for NPG formation on γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles <i>via</i> reaction kinetics and surface analysis. Th