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Mafune Lab
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A lab that uses clusters of a few atoms to explore the mechanisms behind catalysts and structures.
AboutAbout the lab
Looking at a handful of atoms, one atom at a time.
The Mafune Lab studies the structures and reactions of clusters, which are small groups of a few atoms.
Using a unique method that rapidly probes reactivity with gas-phase clusters, the lab is working on designing catalysts that do not use platinum or rhodium.
The lab also determines cluster structures from their vibrational spectra, using light from an infrared free-electron laser.
A distinguishing feature of the lab is that it uses methods from both physics and chemistry to explore chemical phenomena with lasers.
Key terms
- Cluster
- A group of anywhere from a few to a few dozen atoms or molecules. Its properties change greatly depending on the number of particles.
- Gas phase
- The state of matter in which a substance is a gas. Gas-phase clusters can be studied without influence from their surroundings.
- Vibrational spectrum
- A record of which wavelengths of light a molecule or cluster absorbs in order to vibrate. It provides clues to its shape.
- Free-electron laser
- A device that produces intense light of freely tunable wavelength from electrons accelerated in an accelerator.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Using gas-phase cluster techniques and lasers, the lab investigates the reactivity and structure of clusters made up of a few atoms. It works on developing catalysts that do not rely on rare elements and on determining cluster structures from their vibrational spectra.
*Illustrative imageMulti-element catalysts to replace platinum and rhodium
Platinum and rhodium, which are essential for purifying automobile exhaust, are rare and expensive. Using a unique method that analyzes the reactivity of gas-phase clusters at ultrafast speed, the lab designs catalysts that combine inexpensive elements. In joint research with Toyota Motor Corporation, it is developing catalysts that render NO and CO harmless.
*Illustrative imageDetermining cluster structures with a free-electron laser
Light from FELIX, an infrared free-electron laser at Radboud University in the Netherlands, is shone onto clusters tagged with argon atoms. The vibrational spectrum is measured from whether the tag comes off, and the structure of the cluster is determined from it.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Mafune Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral and master's students, collaborators, and technical and administrative assistants.
- ProfessorFumitaka MafunePublications ↗
- LecturerToshiaki NagataPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorMasato Yamaguchi
- Project Associate ProfessorKen Miyajima
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Rb9O2 cluster” Axiosaurus / Public domain (cropped)
- Multi-element catalysts to replace platinum and rhodium: “Catalytic Converter Interior” Cyrogigabyte / CC0 (cropped)
- Determining cluster structures with a free-electron laser: “Free-electron laser” MarloesGielen / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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