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Photofunctional Materials Chemistry Lab
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A lab that creates metal complexes and molecular crystals whose properties switch in response to light or electricity.
AboutAbout the lab
Creating complex molecules that respond to light and heat.
The Photofunctional Materials Chemistry Lab aims to develop molecular devices, creating new materials with distinctive optical, magnetic, and electronic functions and studying their properties.
Its work centers on developing metal complexes and molecular crystals whose properties change substantially in response to stimuli such as light or an electric field.
A representative research subject is photomagnetic materials, whose magnetism changes when they are irradiated with light.
The lab is a research group of the Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, and is introduced as a lab of the Faculty of Sciences' Department of Chemistry and the Graduate School of Sciences' Department of Chemistry.
Key terms
- Photomagnet
- A substance that turns into a magnet when irradiated with light. Among molecular magnetic materials, it was first found in iron-cobalt Prussian blue.
- Valence tautomerism
- A property in which electrons transfer between a metal and a ligand, switching the state of the compound.
- Pyroelectric effect
- A phenomenon in which a change in temperature changes the polarization of a crystal, which is detected as an electric current.
ResearchResearch themes
Aiming to develop molecular devices, the lab synthesizes new materials with distinctive optical, magnetic, and electronic functions and studies their physical properties. It focuses on developing metal complexes and molecular crystals whose properties change greatly in response to external stimuli such as light or an electric field.
*Illustrative imageDynamic magnets that turn into magnets with light
The lab develops new materials whose magnetism can be controlled by electrical, optical, and chemical stimuli. Iron-cobalt Prussian blue changes from a paramagnet to a magnet (ferrimagnet) when irradiated with light, and was the first photomagnet found among molecular magnetic materials.
*Illustrative imageLight-responsive mononuclear metal complexes
In cobalt valence tautomeric complexes, light irradiation causes electron transfer between the ligand and the metal, and the resulting state is maintained for a long time at low temperature. The lab also found in 2000 that light-induced spin transition can be achieved in iron(III) complexes.
*Illustrative imageControlling polarization in molecular crystals
The lab designs molecular crystals and studies materials whose magnetic and electronic states switch in response to external stimuli. A pyroelectric effect due to intramolecular electron transfer has been observed in crystals that exhibit valence tautomerism.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Photofunctional Materials Chemistry Lab are faculty members, visiting researchers, doctoral and master's students, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorOsamu Sato
- Assistant ProfessorShinji Kanegawa
- Assistant ProfessorShuqi Wu
- Assistant ProfessorMasaki Donoshita
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Barium ferrite crystal structure” Yilin Evan Li / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Dynamic magnets that turn into magnets with light: “A-1 horseshoe-magnet-red-silver-iron-filings-AHD” Oguraclutch / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Light-responsive mononuclear metal complexes: “Bi-crystal” Alchemist-hp (www.pse-mendelejew.de) + Richard Bartz with focus stack. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Controlling polarization in molecular crystals: “Ferroelectric liquid crystal image from a polarizing microscope” Ingo Dierking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Coordination Chemistry Lab): “U.S. Department of Energy - Science - )” U.S. Department of Energy from United States / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Physical Chemistry of Metal Complexes Lab): “C-Tb-adp” Minhyuk Kim, Hwa-Sub Lee, Dong-Hyun Seo, Sung June Cho, Eun-chae Jeon & Hoi Ri Moon / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Nano Functional Chemistry Lab): “Energy Vault Test Tower 2021” Caumasee / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Structural Organic Chemistry Lab): “Supramolecular pyrene derivative nanorods laying on covalently bonded pyrene derivative aggregate” Bzitoo / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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