◆Research findings by a team led by Professor Katsunobu Mori of the Interdisciplinary Science Division in the School of Integrated Sciences have been published in Elsevier’s academic journal *Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry*
Release Date:
New Material Developed to Purify Water with High Salt Content by Harnessing Light
— Zero Environmental Impact for a Wide Range of Water Treatment Applications, Including Industrial Wastewater and Seawater —
Industrial wastewater and similar effluents contain organic compounds that are difficult to break down, and their removal is necessary to protect water quality. In particular, water with high salt content poses challenges such as increased treatment costs and higher reagent consumption. While environmentally friendly photocatalytic technology is effective, conventional materials have not functioned adequately in environments with high salt concentrations.
The research team developed a "photocatalytic gel" in which fine particles of tungsten oxide are embedded in a porous gel. Because the particles are dispersed within the gel, they can react more easily with contaminants, and it has been confirmed that the gel can decompose contaminants 4 to 13 times more efficiently than conventional methods, even in water with high salt content.
Going forward, we will continue to develop materials that can be used reliably in a variety of aquatic environments, with the goal of establishing sustainable water treatment technologies.
This research is the result of a collaborative effort by a research group comprising Tsuyoshi Sugita, Deputy Research Director; Yuki Ueda, Deputy Research Director; and Rintaro Chubu, Researcher, at the Center for Materials Science, Institute of Nuclear Science, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA; President: Masanori Oguchi); Takuya Minamikawa, Deputy Research Director, and Yurina Sekine, Senior Researcher, at the Promotion Office of the same institute; and Professor Katsunobu Mori of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Kochi University.
This research was published in the Elsevier journal *Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry* on November 7, 2025.
[Paper Information]
- Journal Title: Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry
- Title: Highly Water-Permeable WO3-Containing Porous Hydrogel via Freeze-Crosslinking for Efficient and Salt-Resistant Dye Decolorization
- Authors: Tsuyoshi Sugita1,2, Yuki Ueda1, Rintaro Nakabe1, Masanobu Mori3, Takuya Nankawa2,4, and Yurina Sekine2,4
- Affiliation: 1 Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Materials Science Research Center; 2 Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Sekine Biomass Resource Development Laboratory; 3 Kochi University, Faculty of Science and Engineering; 4 Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Promotion Office
This research was conducted with funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (22K05205).