Outline

The tremendous developments of civilization in the previous century was accompanied by the marked consumption of natural resources and a dramatic impact on the natural environment.

In order to create an environment-friendly civilization capable of supporting the sustainable development of humanity in the 21st century, fundamental qualitative developments in science and technology that supports our society are absolutely essential. This will require the development of technologies for acquiring and storing high-value-added materials and high-quality energy using the minimum possible amounts of natural resources and energy in order to minimize the environmental impact of these technologies and facilitate the recycling of natural resources and increase energy efficiency.

To achieve these goals, the development of novel cutting-edge science and technology related to materials and energy is indispensable. It is obvious, therefore, that the discipline of chemistry as it relates to both materials and energy conversion has a major role to play in this endeavor.

In order to satisfy the current technological demands of society in this area, the Department of Energy and Hydrocarbon Chemistry is engaged in research directed at enabling new environment-friendly material and energy conversion techniques and high-efficiency recycling of natural resources, focused on two key areas—firstly, the effective teaching of fundamental chemistry and the development of a set of scientific principles, and secondly, based on this foundation, the promotion of highly creative applied chemistry.

The focus of research is detailed below:

  • Development of material conversion reactions for addressing energy problems
  • Development of catalytic reactions for addressing environmental issues
  • Creation of new catalytic materials
  • Investigation of energy conversion electrode reactions and the development of electrode materials
  • Elucidation of the structure of liquid-liquid, solid-gas and solid-liquid interface reactions and their control
  • Development of new materials by means of controlling reactivity and activated species
  • Development of functional organosilicon compounds
  • Development and functionalization of new fullerene derivatives
  • Effective utilization of tracers