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Jinnai Lab
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The lab uses electron microscopy to see the internal structure of polymer materials down to the nanoscale.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing inside polymers with electron microscopy.
The Jinnai Lab studies nanoscale structures inside polymer materials by observing them with electron microscopy.
Polymers are lightweight, soft, and easy to process, and are widely used in industry.
Their properties are linked to the fine molecular- and nanoscale structures that form inside them, but the relationship between the two is still not well understood.
The lab develops state-of-the-art transmission electron microscopy techniques itself, working on 3D observation of self-assembled structures and observation of single polymer chains.
Key terms
- Transmission electron microscope
- An instrument that passes an electron beam through a specimen to magnify and observe structures too small to see with light
- Electron tomography
- A method that reconstructs the internal 3D structure of a specimen from many electron microscope images taken while tilting it
- Self-assembly
- The spontaneous gathering of molecules to form regular structures on their own
NewsLab news
Paper published in Giant
Joint research with The Yokohama Rubber Co. clarifies the mechanism that suppresses degradation of the adhesion interface between rubber and brass
A master's student received an Excellent Oral Presentation Award at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Microscopy
Assistant Professor Kanomi received the 20th Research Encouragement Award in Multidisciplinary Materials Science from the Hatano Scholarship Fund
A research group including Sumitomo Rubber Industries clarifies the self-reinforcing mechanism of rubber materials
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates how the fine molecular- and nanoscale structures inside polymer materials are connected to the properties and functions of the materials. By developing state-of-the-art transmission electron microscopy techniques, it aims to build the foundation for developing high-performance soft materials.
*Illustrative image3D Observation of Phase-Separated Structures
Block copolymers are molecules in which two immiscible polymers are joined by covalent bonds, and they form regular phase-separated structures at the nanoscale. The lab visualizes these complex network structures in 3D by electron tomography and quantifies how constrained the polymer chains are from the shape of the interfaces.
*Illustrative imageDevelopment of Electron Tomography
Combining transmission electron microscopy with computed tomography, the lab reconstructs a 3D image from many images taken while tilting the specimen. By machining the specimen into a rod shape and modifying the holder, it has resolved the image distortion caused by the limited tilt angle.
*Illustrative imageDirectly Seeing Single Polymer Chains
Distinguishing the shape of a single polymer chain requires a resolution of about 0.1 nm, so there were almost no examples of direct observation. Using atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, the lab is developing a method that captures the positions of heavy elements in a chain as bright spots to identify the chain's shape and local structure.
*Illustrative imageNanostructure Mapping of Polymer Crystals
Crystalline polymers such as polyethylene form complex structures in which thin plate-like crystals and amorphous regions are intermixed. The lab is developing a method that scans a finely focused electron beam to collect a huge number of electron diffraction patterns and maps crystal size and orientation at the nanoscale.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Jinnai Lab include faculty, project researchers, technical staff and technical assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHiroshi Jinnai
- Associate ProfessorTomohiro Miyata
- Assistant ProfessorShusuke Kanomi
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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: “Block Copolymer ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- 3D Observation of Phase-Separated Structures: “Surface of a tri-block copolymer (Septon 4055) imaged using an atomic force microscope.” Crosslink / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Development of Electron Tomography: “Transmission Electron Microscopy image of upconversion nanoparticles” Lmackenzie89 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Directly Seeing Single Polymer Chains: “Single Polymer Chains AFM” Yurko / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Nanostructure Mapping of Polymer Crystals: “Spherulite 1” Salino01 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (西堀研究室): “ESRF img 0853” Rama / CC BY-SA 2.0 fr (cropped)
- Related lab (吉岡研究室): “FLAKES” TOP PLASTIC / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (久保研究室): “Ferrofluid in magnetic field” Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (三ツ石研究室): “Electrohydrodynamic instability patterning in a thin polymer film. 500x magnification reflected light” Claire Trease, Kingston University / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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