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Polymer Chemistry Lab
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The lab creates polymers with targeted shapes to produce environmentally friendly materials.
AboutAbout the lab
Polymerizing with controlled shapes to bring out new properties.
The Polymer Chemistry Lab studies how to make polymers of various shapes using precise polymerization methods.
It efficiently synthesizes polymers with special architectures such as star-shaped, cyclic, and cage-shaped polymers, and examines their physical properties in detail.
The lab also develops polymerization methods with a low environmental burden, such as catalysts that contain no heavy metals.
It is also developing environmentally friendly materials using sugar chains and polyesters, as well as electrically conductive polymers.
Key terms
- Polymerization
- A reaction that links small molecules (monomers) one after another to form a large molecule (a polymer).
- Block copolymer
- A polymer in which two or more polymer chains with different properties are joined within a single molecule.
- Microphase-separated structure
- A regular nanoscale pattern that forms because immiscible polymer chains are bonded together.
NewsLab news
A doctoral student won a Poster Award at the Japan-Taiwan Joint Polymer Symposium
Paper on bio-based worm-like micelles published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Paper on surface modification of multicyclic polymers published in ACS Applied Polymer Materials
Paper on controlling the luminescence of polyesters published in Angewandte Chemie
Paper on sequence control of block polyesters published in Polymers
ResearchResearch themes
The lab designs the shape of polymers themselves with precise synthesis techniques to bring out properties that linear polymers do not have. Drawing on this knowledge, it creates materials with a low environmental burden and also works on developing electrically conductive polymers.
*Illustrative imageMaking polymers with special shapes
Star-shaped polymers with many arms, ring-shaped monocyclic and multicyclic polymers, and cage-shaped polymers show physical properties different from those of linear polymers because of their shapes. The lab develops methods to obtain them efficiently using various precision synthesis techniques.
*Illustrative imageControlling nanostructures as intended
Block copolymers self-assemble in solids and thin films to form nanoscale structures called microphase-separated structures. The lab analyzes the behavior of precisely synthesized copolymers, aiming to build structures suited to specific purposes.
*Illustrative imagePolymerizing with catalysts free of heavy metals
Polyesters and polyethers have been made precisely with organometallic catalysts, but there are concerns about their effects on the environment and living organisms. Focusing on the precision polymerization of cyclic monomers, the lab develops new catalysts and polymerization pathways with a low environmental burden.
*Illustrative imageEnvironmentally friendly polymer materials
The lab develops materials using sugar chains and polyesters. It makes elastomers used in industry and compatibilizers that help different types of polymers mix, aiming for materials that surpass existing plastics.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Polymer Chemistry Lab consist of faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, administrative assistants, technical assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorToshifumi Satoh
- ProfessorTakuya Isono
- Assistant ProfessorFeng Li
- Project Assistant ProfessorTianle Gao
- Project Assistant ProfessorRyota Suzuki
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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: “Polyethylene balls5” Lluis tgn / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Making polymers with special shapes: “DendrimerOverview” V8rik at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Controlling nanostructures as intended: “Surface of a tri-block copolymer (Septon 4055) imaged using an atomic force microscope.” Crosslink / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Polymerizing with catalysts free of heavy metals: “Meso-Lactide molecule ball” Jynto (talk) / CC0 (cropped)
- Environmentally friendly polymer materials: “Potato Starch Polarized light 100x” Photon 400 750 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (生物分子化学): “Microbial cellulose pellicle” User:Lightenoughtotravel / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (分子集積化学): “Simulated structure of the water hexane interface” Cnrowley / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (反応有機化学): “Acetylacetone-keto-tautomer-from-xtal-Mercury-3D-balls” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (構造無機化学): “Cobaltate cristallographic structure” Julien Bobroff (user:Jubobroff) LPS, Orsay, France / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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