Yasuhiko HAYASHI, Ph.D. Professor
Div. of Industrial Innovation Sciences
Advanced nano-carbon technologies for a low-carbon society
- Rapid growth of high-density and long carbon nanotube (CNT) forests on large-area substrates for ultra- low-resistivity, high-strength CNT yarns and sheets
- Low-cost and large-scale production, using an arc in water, of high-purity and large surface area carbon nanohorns (CNHs) for use in environmental devices
- Easy dispersion of CNHs in organic solvents and water without surfactants for application in energy-related devices (fuel cells, capacitors, gas-absorption), composite materials, and drug delivery systems
- Advanced technologies of uniform and large-area coating of few-layers of graphite oxide (GO), reduction of GO, high-functional GO materials, and GO-based electrode applications
Broad Research Appeal
- Advanced characterization techniques for nanomaterials: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), in-situ TEM measurements, high-resolution TEM
- CNTs: Rapidly grown ultra-low-resistivity, high-strength CNT yarns and sheets
- CNHs: High dispersion, composite materials, gas absorption materials
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Kenji TSURUTA, Ph.D. (Science) Professor
Computational Material/Device Design Dept. of Electrical & Electronic Eng.
Multiscale computational design of nanoscale interfaces
- Development of multiscale computational methodology for nano-electronics and nanomaterials design
- Defects, interfaces, and impurity effects on nanomaterial properties, such as photovoltaic and photocatalytic efficiency
- Large-scale electromagnetic simulations for optoelectronic and metamaterials design.
- Computational and experimental design of phononic crystals for efficient ultrasonic energy-transmission devices.
Broad Research Appeal
- Hybrid QM/MD simulation for designing novel nanodevice via dopant segregation effect into the nanoscale interface and defect of semiconductors/ceramics such as silicon carbide and alumina
- Ab-initio analysis of optical response and carrier transport in CNT/semiconductor interface
- Ab-initio analysis of photocatalytic water-splitting effects on a 4H-SiC surface
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Yutaka TAKAGUCHI, Ph.D. (Science) Associate Professor
Photochemistry, Organic Chemistry
Photofunctional materials based on nanocarbons
(1) Chemistry of nanocarbons (fullerenes and carbon nanotubes), (2) Chemistry of the main group elements, (3) Self-assembly and photoproperties of organic semiconductors, (4) Chemical modification of clusters (CdS, CdSe, ZnS, etc.), and (5) Fabrication and properties of nanohybrids
Selected Publications
- Y. Sasada, T. Tajima, T. Wada, T. Uchida, M. Nishi, T. Ohkubo, Y. Takaguchi, Photosensitized Hydrogen Evolution from Water Using Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube/Fullerodendron/Pt(II) Coaxial Nanohybrids, New J. Chem., in press (2013), DOI: 10.1039/C3NJ00790A.
- T. Tajima, A. Tsutsui, T. Fujii, J. Takada, Y. Takaguchi, Fabrication of Novel Core-shell Microspheres Consisting of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and CaCO3 through Biomimetic Mineralization, Polymer J. 2012, 44, 620.
- T. Tajima, W. Sakata, T. Wada, A. Tsutsui, S. Nishimoto, M. Miyake, Y. Takaguchi, Photosensitized Hydrogen Evolution from Water Using a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube/Fullerodendron/SiO2 Coaxial Nanohybrid, Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, 5750.
- N. Kawasaki, T. Nagano, Y. Kubozono, Y. Sako, Y. Morimoto, Y. Takaguchi, A. Fujiwara, C.-C. Chu, T. Imae, Transport Properties of Field-Effect Transistor with Langmuir–Blodgett Films of C60 Dendrimer and Estimation of Impurity Levels, Appl. Phys. Lett. 2007, 91, 243515.
- A. S. Sandanayaka, H. Zhang, Y. Takaguchi, Y. Sako, M. Tamura, Y. Araki, O. Ito, Photoinduced Charge Separation and Charge Recombination of Fullerene Bearing Dendritic Poly(amidoamine) with Carboxylates at the Terminal in Aqueous Media, Chem. Commun. 2005, 5160.
- C. Hirano, T. Imae, S. Fujima, Y. Yanagimoto, Y. Takaguchi, Fabrication and Properties of Fullerodendron Thin Films, Langmuir 2005, 21, 272.
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Takahiro OHKUBO, Ph.D. (Science) Associate Professor
Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry
Fundamentals and applications of carbon adsorbent: nanospace science and technology
Current research topics include the studies of structure and properties of nanorestricted systems, nanostructures (clusters and small particles), porous materials, surface science, and carbon-based materials. He has studied phenomena experimentally using XAFS, XRD, gas and vapor adsorption measurements, as well as molecular simulation techniques.
Selected Publications
- T. Ohkubo, T. Konishi, Y. Hattori, H. Kanoh, T. Fujikawa, K. Kaneko, Restricted hydration structures of Rb and Br ions confined in slit-shaped carbon nanospace, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 11860–11861.
- T. Ohkubo, Y. Hattori, H. Kanoh, T. Konishi, H. Sakai, M. Abe, D. Kasuya, M. Yudasaka, S. Iijima, T. Fujikawa, K. Kaneko, EXAFS study of electrolytic nanosolution confined in interstitial nanospaces of single-wall carbon nanohorn colloids, Physica Scr. 2005, T115, 685–687.
- D. Minami, T. Ohkubo, Y. Kuroda, K. Sakai, H. Sakai, M. Abe, Structural optimization of arranged carbon nanotubes for hydrogen storage by grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation, Int. J. Hydro. Energy 2010, 35, 12398–12404./li>
- T. Ohkubo, Y. Takehara, Y. Kuroda, Water-initiated ordering around a copper ion of copper acetate confined in slit-shaped carbon micropores, Micropor. Mesopor. Mater. 2012, 154, 82–86.
- M. Nishi, T. Ohkubo, K. Tsurusaki, A. Itadani, B. Ahmmad, K. Urita, I. Moriguchi, S. Kittaka, Y. Kuroda, Highly compressed nanosolution restricted in cylindrical carbon nanospaces, Nanoscale 2013, 5, 2080–2088.
URL
http://chem.okayama-u.ac.jp/english/staff/detail/takahiro-ohkubo.html
Tetsuya UCHIDA, Ph.D. (Eng.) Associate Professor
Polymer Chemistry, Structure and Physical Properties of Polymers
Electron microscope observation and nanostructural control of single-wall carbon nanotube bundles, single crystals and composites
- CNT / polymer composite
- Dispersion and exfoliation of single-walled carbon nanotubes in polymers
- Comparison of reinforcement efficiencies of carbon nanotubes of various types in polymers
- Control of SWNT crystal morphology
- Preparation of water-dispersible SWNT nanofiller
- Preparation and mechanical properties of PVA/SWNT nanofiller composite film
Key words
SWNT, SWNT/polymer composite, transmission electron microscope observation, dispersion and exfoliation of SWNT, SWNT nanofiller, fiber, film, morphology, structure, mechanical property, thermal property
Selected Publications
- T. Uchida, S. Kumar, Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes Dispersion and Exfoliation in Polymers, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2005, 98, 985–989.
- T. Uchida, D.P. Anderson, M.L. Minus, S. Kumar, Morphology and Modulus of Vapor Grown Carbon Nano Fibers, J. Mater. Sci. 2006, 41, 5851–5856.
- H.G. Chae, X. Zhang, B. Min, T. Lin, T.V. Sreekumar, T. Uchida, S. Kumar, Polymer/carbon nanotube composites: challenges and opportunities, Advances in Composite Materials 2012, 2, 19–29.
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Yuta NISHINA, Ph.D. (Engineering) Assistant Professor
Organic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Catalysis
Functionalization of graphene oxide
GO, readily dispersed in water and/or polar organic solvents, has been used for preparing conductive films, binders for carbon nanotubes and nanohorns, and components of cathodes and/or anodes of lithium batteries. Furthermore, GO has unique benefits for producing composites with inorganic materials and organic polymers because of its large amounts of oxygen functionalities. Large-scale synthesis of GO was achieved with tunable oxidation degrees using simple chemical reactions.
Selected Publications
- Naoki Morimoto, Shun-ichi Yamamoto, Yasuo Takeuchi, Yuta Nishina, Palladium on graphene: The in situ generation of a catalyst for the chemoselective reduction of α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, RSC Advances 2013, 3, 15608–15612.
- Yuta Nishina, Junya Miyata, Ryo Kawai, Kazuma Gotoh, Recyclable Pd/Graphene Catalyst: Mechanistic Insights into Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Catalysis, RSC Advances 2012, 2, 9380–9382.
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Ayano SATOH, Ph.D. Associate Professor
Organelle Systems Bioengineering
Evaluation of carbon nanomaterial cytotoxicity
- Understanding of regulation of intracellular vesicle trafficking and organelle biogenesis
- Small molecule screening for drug discovery
- Safety evaluation of nanomaterials
Selected Publications
- M. Koreishi, T.J. Gniadek, S. Yu, J. Masuda, Y. Honjo, A. Satoh, The golgin tether giantin regulates the secretory pathway by controlling stack organization within Golgi apparatus, PLoS One 2013, 8(3), e59821.
- M. Koreishi, S. Yu, M. Oda, Y. Honjo, A. Satoh, CK2 phosphorylates Sec31 and regulates ER-To-Golgi trafficking, PLoS One 2013, 8(1), e54382.
- K. Tashiro, A. Satoh, T. Utsumi, C. Chung, Y. Iwakiri, Absence of Nogo-B (reticulon 4B) facilitates hepatic stellate cell apoptosis and diminishes hepatic fibrosis in mice, Am J Pathol. 2013, 182(3), 786–795.
- C. Rutz, A. Satoh, P. Ronchi, B. Brügger, G. Warren, FT. Wieland, Following the fate in vivo of COPI vesicles generated in vitro, Traffic 2009, 10(8), 994–1005.
- X. Pan, A. Lührmann, A. Satoh, M.A. Laskowski-Arce, C.R. Roy, Ankyrin repeat proteins comprise a diverse family of bacterial type IV effectors Science 2008, 320(5883), 1651–1654.
- A. Satoh, G. Warren, In situ cleavage of the acidic domain from the p115 tether inhibits exocytic transport, Traffic 2008, 9(9), 1522–1529.
- J. Malsam, A. Satoh, L. Pelletier, G. Warren, Golgin tethers define subpopulations of COPI vesicles Science 2005, 307(5712), 1095–1098.
URL
https://pxy-www.a.okayama-u.ac.jp/user/organell/en/index.html
Kazuma GOTOH, Ph.D. (Science) Assistant Professor
Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Analysis and application of carbon material nanostructures
Current research topics are the structure, state and dynamics of molecules and ions doped in pores of nanoporous materials or materials intercalated between graphite layers. Research using solid state nuclear magnetic resonance can greatly contribute to the development of secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries. Some novel nanocarbon materials and catalytic reactions are also developed.
Selected Publications
- K. Gotoh et al., NMR study for electrochemically inserted Na in hard carbon electrode of sodium ion battery, J. Power Sources 2013, 225, 137–140.
- K. Gotoh, Y. Nishina, T. Ohkubo et al., Arrangement and dispersion of Rh and Pt atoms on graphene oxide sheets, Chem. Lett. 2012, 41(7), 680–682.
- S. Komaba, K. Gotoh et al., Electrochemical Na Insertion and Solid Electrolyte Interphase for Hard-Carbon Electrodes and Application to Na-Ion Batteries, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2011, 21, 3859–3867.
- K. Gotoh, T. Ohkubo et al., Exfoliated graphene sheets decorated with metal / metal oxide nanoparticles: simple preparation from cation exchanged graphite oxide, Carbon 2011, 49, 1118–1125.
- K. Gotoh et al., Properties of a novel hard-carbon optimized to large size Li ion secondary battery studied by 7Li NMR, J. Power Sources 2006, 162, 1322–1328.
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Hiroshi YAMADA, Ph. D. (Science) Associate Professor
Dept. of Neuroscience (Medical School)
Application of mechanochemical enzymes to nanomachines
The physiological functions of a mechanochemical enzyme, "Dynamin", are actively studied. Hydrolysis of GTP by dynamin produces mechanical force accompanying its conformational change, which grabs actin filaments and cuts cell membranes. We are striving to apply these mechanochemical proteins including dynamins to industrial fields as nanomachines.
Selected Publications
- M. Kinuta, H. Yamada, T. Abe, M. Watanabe, S.A. Li, T. Yasuda, T. Matsukawa, H. Kumon, K. Takei, Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate is degraded prior to vesicle formation in endocytosis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2002, 99: 2842–2847.
- H. Yamada, E. Ohashi, N. Kusumi, S.A. Li, T. Abe, Y. Yoshida, M. Watanabe, K. Tomizawa, H. Kumon, H. Matsui, K. Takei, Amphiphysin 1 is important for actin polymerization during phagocytosis, Mol. Biol. Cell 2007, 18: 4669–4680
- H. Yamada, S. Padilla-Parra, S.J. Park, T. Itoh, M. Chaineau, I. Monaldi, O. Cremona, F. Benfenati, P. De Camilli, M. Coppey-Moisan, M. Tramier, T. Galli, K. Takei, Dynamic interaction of amphiphysin with N-wasp regulates actin assembly, J. Biol. Chem. 2009, 284: 34244–34256
- H. Yamada, T. Abe, A. Satoh, N. Okazaki, S. Tago, K. Kobayashi, Y. Yoshida, Y. Oda, M. Watanabe, K. Tomizawa, H. Matsui, K. Takei, Stabilization of actin bundles by a Dynamin 1 / Cortactin ring complex is necessary for growth cone filopodia, J. Neuroscience. 2013, 33: 4514–4526.
Patent application
JP 5283962
