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Asai Lab
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A lab that controls the structure of polymer materials to tackle environmental and acoustic challenges.
AboutAbout the lab
Controlling polymer structure to bring out its properties.
The Asai Lab studies the relationship between the structure of polymer materials and the properties that arise from it.
In polymers such as plastics, changing how the molecules are arranged greatly changes hardness, heat resistance, and how easily the material degrades.
The lab studies ways to control this structure, such as infusing polymers with supercritical carbon dioxide and mixing in carbon fillers.
The materials it works with are biodegradable plastics, electrically conductive composites, and materials that damp vibration and sound.
Key terms
- Supercritical carbon dioxide
- Carbon dioxide at high temperature and pressure, with properties between those of a gas and a liquid. It infuses readily into polymers.
- Biodegradable polymer
- A polymer that is broken down by water or enzymes in nature or in living bodies. Polylactic acid is one example.
- Higher-order structure
- Larger-scale structures formed when polymer chains assemble, such as crystals and molecular orientation.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the relationship between the higher-order structure and physical properties of polymer materials, and how to control them. Its work rests on three pillars: carbon dioxide and polymers, conductive polymer composites, and vibration-damping and sound-absorbing materials.
*Illustrative imageCarbon dioxide and polymers
The lab infuses polymers with supercritical carbon dioxide, an environmentally friendly medium, and investigates how they crystallize and how their structures form. For biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid, it also studies the relationship between structure and physical properties and how to control it.
*Illustrative imageConductive polymer composites
The lab studies materials made by mixing conductive fillers such as carbon black into insulating polymers, and examines how the dispersion of the filler relates to electrical properties. It also fabricates ion-conducting composites that use lithium salts.
*Illustrative imageVibration-damping and sound-absorbing materials
The lab improves vibration damping by connecting an external electric circuit to a piezoelectric polymer, so that vibrational energy is dissipated as electricity. It also investigates the mechanisms of plate- and membrane-vibration-type sound-absorbing materials, which absorb low-frequency sound well.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Asai Lab consist of faculty, doctoral students, and master's students.As of 2025
- Associate ProfessorShigeo AsaiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorShuichi AkasakaPublications ↗
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: “Solid polymeric foam” Eva Santini, Giovanna Canu, Michela E. Pedretti, CNR-ICMATE / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Carbon dioxide and polymers: “Supercritical Fluids Reactor” RHanush / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Conductive polymer composites: “Carbon black” FK1954 / Public domain (cropped)
- Vibration-damping and sound-absorbing materials: “Akustikkammer” Applus+ IDIADA / CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped)
- Related lab (柘植研究室): “Bioreactor 1” Luis Fernando Flores LAB / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (邱研究室): “Carbon fibre weave” Christine Twigg / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (吉田研究室): “Silicon carbide mirror subjected to thermal–vacuum testing ESA377848” European Space Agency / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
- Related lab (史・春本研究室): “Magnetic domains of non oriented silicon or electrical steel” Matesy / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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