Special Contract Professor Kazunari Domen Receives Clarivate Citation Laureates Award
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Awards Ceremony
We are pleased to announce that Special Contract Professor Kazunari Domen has been named a Clarivate Citation Laureate. This prestigious recognition is awarded to researchers who have made significant global contributions to academic research, and recipients are often considered future Nobel Prize candidates.
Special Contract Professor Domen has long been at the forefront of research on clean hydrogen production. His work focuses on hydrogen generation technology through water splitting using sunlight. He utilizes powdered photocatalysts and reaction systems to decompose water via redox reactions, producing hydrogen. These powdered photocatalysts hold great promise for practical applications due to their simple structure and potential for large-scale deployment.
A key aspect of his research is the development of photocatalysts that respond to visible light, which is crucial for maximizing solar energy use. He is advancing research on powdered photocatalysts made from materials that absorb long-wavelength visible light, such as oxynitrides and oxysulfides, while also developing reaction systems to enhance their activation and scalability. A large-scale demonstration experiment will begin in Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, as part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's J-PEAKS program to strengthen and promote regional core and distinctive research universities, in which Shinshu University has been selected. Water-splitting panels will be installed across a 5,000-square-meter site to study the generation of hydrogen and oxygen. This demonstration will be one of the largest in Japan, approximately 50 times the size of current projects.
Comments by Dr. Domen
"It is a great honor to receive this award. However, there are still several challenges that must be addressed before this technology can be widely implemented in society. Among them, improving the efficiency of photocatalysts is a critical issue, and we aim to bring it to a practical level within the next two to three years. The J-PEAKS program's support for research and development aimed at societal implementation will be indispensable in achieving this goal."
What Are the Clarivate Citation Laureates?
The Clarivate Citation Laureates are selected as the most cited and influential researchers in their respective fields. The selection process involves analyzing vast amounts of citation data from scholarly articles, using the Web of Science database. Recipients are evaluated based on the quality, impact, and influence of their published work, and their research contributions to advancing the field.
