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Molecular Spectroscopy Lab
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The lab uses lasers to capture fast motions inside liquids.
AboutAbout the lab
Capturing ever-moving liquids with lasers
The Molecular Spectroscopy Lab uses laser spectroscopy to study how molecules move in liquids and solutions.
Many chemical reactions take place in solution, and the motion of the solvent also affects how a reaction proceeds.
Using self-built instruments, the lab captures intermolecular vibrations and changes in molecular orientation that occur on timescales from femtoseconds to picoseconds.
The lab also works on developing liquids with new functions, such as ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents.
Key terms
- Ionic liquid
- A salt that stays liquid even at room temperature. It is resistant to evaporation and flammability
- Deep eutectic solvent
- A substance that becomes liquid at room temperature when solids are mixed at a certain ratio
- Intermolecular vibration
- A vibrational motion that occurs between molecules. In liquids, it is a collective motion also called "fluctuation"
NewsLab news
A paper from the lab was published as a Perspective in J. Chem. Phys.
A student received a Student Presentation Award at the 106th Spring Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan
An original paper from the lab was selected as an Editor's Pick in J. Chem. Phys.
A student received the Chemistry Letters Young Researcher Award at the 47th Symposium on Solution Chemistry
An original paper from the lab received the Hot Article Award from Analytical Sciences
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the dynamics of liquids and solutions and the physical properties of liquids. Starting from building laser spectroscopy instruments itself, the lab also works on the synthesis and development of functional fluids, including ionic liquids.
*Illustrative imageDynamics of liquids and solutions
Because many chemical reactions take place in solution, liquids and solutions are important subjects in chemistry. What makes them both difficult and interesting is that liquids are always in motion, and the lab investigates the mobility of a wide variety of liquids and solutions using laser spectroscopy.
*Illustrative imageCreating functional fluids
The lab develops ionic liquids, which are salts that are liquid at room temperature, and deep eutectic solvents, which become liquid when solids are mixed together. A deep eutectic solvent discovered in the lab, made of an imidazolium-based iodide and iodine, becomes liquid about 10 seconds after mixing and shows high ionic conductivity.
*Illustrative imageLow-frequency spectra
Intermolecular vibrations are collective motions also called "fluctuations," and they appear as broad spectra in the low-frequency region below 200 cm⁻¹. The lab collects and compares data in this region for systems ranging from simple liquids to ionic liquids and polymer solutions.
*Illustrative imageBuilding our own spectroscopic instruments
The femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy instrument was rebuilt at Chiba University in 2007 and can observe molecular motions in the range of about 0.3 to 700 cm⁻¹. In 2023, the lab also built a sub-picosecond optical Kerr effect spectroscopy instrument for observing slower motions.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorHideaki Shirota
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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: “Confocal Raman imaging microscope Witec alpha300” Sonjajnos / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Dynamics of liquids and solutions: “Blue Solution” Voicu Dragoș / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Creating functional fluids: “Raman measurement of ionic liquid droplet” Tavo Romann / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Low-frequency spectra: “Carbon dioxide infrared absorption” ChiralJon / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Building our own spectroscopic instruments: “Laser Optics - Idaho National Laboratory” Idaho National Laboratory / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (構造化学研究室): “ID20 ESRF RIXS spectrometer” Gps1810 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (量子化学研究室): “8orbitals” Ulrich Mohrhoff / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (分析化学研究室): “BC photo from research 1” BCanalyst / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (表面化学研究室): “Titanium-dioxide-sample” Benjah-bmm27 / Public domain (cropped)
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