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Yamashita-Morimoto Lab
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The lab explores the hidden properties of elements to create new molecules and catalysts.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeking out and deeply understanding the hidden properties of elements.
The Yamashita-Morimoto Lab studies the chemistry of organic compounds containing boron and aluminum, as well as the chemistry of catalysts used to make chemical products in industry.
The lab investigates the "elemental properties" that elements show when they are part of organic molecules, and creates molecules with "new bonds" that have never existed before.
Another pillar is the development of catalysts that convert methane, the main component of natural gas, into raw materials for chemical products.
The lab also aims to develop catalysts that reduce the energy needed to make chemical products.
Key terms
- Catalyst
- A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction or makes it occur more readily, without itself being changed.
- Anion
- An ion with a negative charge. In a boryl anion, the boron carries the negative charge.
- Lewis acid
- A substance that accepts an electron pair from another molecule. This property is common among boron and aluminum compounds.
NewsLab news
A paper based on a graduate's research is accepted in Organometallics
A paper by a former researcher is accepted in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
A paper based on a doctoral student's research is accepted in Dalton Trans.
A paper based on a doctoral student's research is accepted in Chem. Sci.
A paper based on a doctoral student's research is accepted in Dalton Trans.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates the "elemental properties" that elements show when they are part of organic molecules, and generates new bonds and new molecules, with the aim of creating new substances and advancing materials chemistry. Its work rests on two pillars: the chemistry of organic compounds containing boron and aluminum, and organometallic and catalytic chemistry for producing raw materials for chemical products.
*Illustrative imageA boron anion: the boryl anion
The lab has succeeded in synthesizing and isolating boryllithium, in which boron carries a negative charge, and has clarified its properties as a nucleophile that attacks other molecules.
*Illustrative imageHighly reactive diboranes(4)
Among diboranes(4), which contain a boron-boron bond, the lab has shown that molecules combining strong electron-accepting character (Lewis acidity) with a highly reactive bond undergo reactions of a type not previously known.
*Illustrative imageAluminum anions
Aluminum is an element for which negatively charged compounds are rare. The lab synthesizes such Al anions and studies their reactions with benzene and with transition metal complexes.
*Illustrative imageCatalytic processes for converting methane
In the CREST project, the lab is working toward reactions that bond the carbon of methane to the carbon of other molecules to convert it into other organic compounds, and reactions that produce methanol directly from methane.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Yamashita-Morimoto Lab consist of faculty, secretaries, postdoctoral researchers, students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs, and collaborating researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorMakoto YamashitaPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorMorimoto YumaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorShinobu ArikawaPublications ↗
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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: “Gas line IMG 20230205” Jonathansammy / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- A boron anion: the boryl anion: “Boron R105” James L Marshall / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Highly reactive diboranes(4): “Bis(pinacolato)diboron-from-xtal-1984-3D-balls-web” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Aluminum anions: “Aluminium foil closeup” http://images-of-elements.com/ / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Catalytic processes for converting methane: “Aderklaa - Gasstation” C.Stadler/Bwag / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (川口研究室): “Double vac line front view” Polimerek / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (南研究室): “Penicillia on Petri dish” Convallaria majalis / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (谷口研究室): “Sinistral x dextral Limicolaria martensiana” Jxd / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (近藤研究室): “Vaccuum line IMG 20230205” Jonathansammy / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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