||This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2011)|
March 10, 1942|
|Alma mater||University of Tokyo|
|Doctoral advisor||Ken'ichi Honda|
|Known for||discovery of Photocatalytic and superhydrophilic properties of TiO2|
Akira Fujishima (藤嶋 昭 Fujishima Akira?, b. March 10, 1942) is a Japanese chemist, professor emeritus, University of Tokyo known for significant contributions to the discovery and research of photocatalytic and superhydrophilic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2).
Career and research
In 1966 he earned his B. A. (Engineering) at the Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, and in 1971 his Ph.D. (Engineering) at the Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo.
In 1967, while working on his Ph.D. under the supervision of professor Kenichi Honda (本多 健一), he discovered the phenomenon of photocatalytic water decomposition (water photolysis) when he exposed a titanium dioxide electrode to strong light, later called the Honda-Fujishima effect. The discovery of self-cleaning properties of titanium dioxide by the group under his supervision initiated a revolution in the ceramic, glass, and other industries (see e.g., self-cleaning glass).
On completing his Ph.D. in 1971 he became assistant professor at Kanagawa University but returned to the University of Tokyo in 1975 as assistant professor in the Department of Applied Chemistry. He was promoted to associate professor in 1978 and professor in 1986 within the same department. He became professor emeritus in 2003 and special university professor emeritus in 2005.
In 1989 he was appointed executive director of the Chemical Society of Japan. In 1998 he became chief of the optical science group at Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology Research, and president of the Japanese Photochemistry Association.
In 1999 he was founder editor-in-chief of the editorial panel of the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews
Awards and honours
Akira Fujishima has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and honours.
In 1999 he received the Award of the Electrochemical Society of Japan 1999 and in the following year, 2000, the Chemical Society of Japan Award
In 2003 he was the recipient of the Heinz Gerischer Award of the European Section of The Electrochemical Society and Japan's Medal with Purple Ribbon. The following year he was further recognised in his own country when in 2004 he received both the Japan Prize and the Japan Academy Prize
In 2006 he received the National Commendation for Invention Award and the Kanagawa Culture Award.
In 2012 he received the Laurea Honoris Causa in chemistry of the environment from the University of Turin.
- Yu Tatsukawa (12 May 2005). "Discovery and applications of photocatalysis —Creating a comfortable future by making use of light energy". Japan Nanonet Bulletin (44).(Originally published in Japanese 2 December 2003)
- Fujishima, Akira; Honda, Kenichi (7 July 1972). "Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode". Nature 238 (5358): 37–38. doi:10.1038/238037a0. PMID 12635268.
- Akira Fujishima, Heinz Gerischer Award[dead link]
- "KAST Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology". Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- Akira Fujishima. "Editorial". Retrieved 15 January 2011.