Kenichi Honda (本多健一, August 23, 1925 – February 26, 2011) was a Japanese

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

. He made a significant contribution to the discovery and characterization of

photocatalytic In chemistry, photocatalysis is the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a photocatalyst, the excited state of which "repeatedly interacts with the reaction partners forming reaction intermediates and regenerates itself after each ...

properties of

titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound derived from titanium with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or Colour Index Internationa ...

(TiO₂), for which he shared the 2004 Japan Prize with his former student

Akira Fujishima is a Japanese chemist and president of Tokyo University of Science. He is known for significant contributions to the discovery and research of photocatalytic and superhydrophilic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is also known as ...

Biography

In 1949 Honda received his bachelor's degree in engineering from the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

. He then spent several years in France, where he defended a PhD in 1957 at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. After returning to Japan he obtained a second doctorate degree, from the University of Tokyo in 1961. He then worked as a lecturer (1965–1975) and professor (1975–1983) at the University of Tokyo and at

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

(1983–1989). In 1989 he moved to the

Tokyo Polytechnic University is a private university in Honchō, Tokyo, Honchō, Nakano, Tokyo. Its nickname is ''Shadai'' (写大). It was formerly known as Tokyo College of Photography (, ''Tōkyō Shashin Daigaku''). The university was founded as Konishi Professional Sc ...

and served as its president in 1996–2004.

Research

In the late 1960s Honda and his doctorate student

discovered the Honda-Fujishima effect - photocatalytic water decomposition (

photolysis Photodissociation, photolysis, photodecomposition, or photofragmentation is a chemical reaction in which molecules of a chemical compound are broken down by absorption of light or photons. It is defined as the interaction of one or more photons wi ...

) upon exposing a titanium dioxide electrode to strong light. For this discovery, published in 1972, Honda and Fujishima received the 2004

Japan Prize is awarded to individuals whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind. As of 2024, the Japan Prize h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honda, Kenichi 1925 births 2011 deaths Japanese chemists University of Tokyo alumni University of Paris alumni Japanese expatriates in France Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Scientists from Saitama Prefecture