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Ito Lab
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The lab creates new organic molecules using heteroatoms and the elementary particle muon.
AboutAbout the lab
Creating functional organic molecules by harnessing heteroatoms
The Ito Lab designs and synthesizes functional organic molecules by taking advantage of the properties of heteroatoms such as fluorine, nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur.
So far, the lab has discovered low-voltage-driven organic semiconductors, fluorescent emitters, sensing materials, and homogeneous metal-complex catalysts.
Built on a foundation of synthetic organic chemistry, the lab also incorporates spectroscopy that uses muons, elementary particles produced in accelerators.
This approach identifies radical species and reactions that are hard to detect with conventional chemical methods, leading to the creation of new functional organic radicals.
Key terms
- Heteroatom
- An element other than carbon and hydrogen, the main components of organic compounds. Examples include fluorine, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur
- Muon
- An elementary particle in the same family as the electron. It has about one-ninth the mass of a proton and is produced in accelerators
- Radical
- A molecule or atom with an unpaired electron, which makes it highly reactive
NewsLab news
Paper on generating sulfur radicals from thioketones accepted for publication
Paper published on the synthesis and structure of CF3-borates
Paper published on muon spin resonance experiments conducted at J-PARC
Paper published on PIMD calculations of muonium adducts of thioketones
Paper published on "luminescent 2-azetines" made by catalyst-free synthesis
ResearchResearch themes
The functions of organic compounds, which are mainly composed of carbon and hydrogen, often arise from the presence of other elements, known as heteroatoms. The lab designs and synthesizes organic compounds with unique structures and properties by taking advantage of the characteristics of various elements, and also studies them using spectroscopy that employs muons.
*Illustrative imageCreating functional molecules with heteroatoms
Taking advantage of the properties of elements such as fluorine, nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur, the lab designs and synthesizes organic compounds with unique structures and properties. It has discovered low-voltage-driven organic semiconductors, fluorescent emitters, sensing materials, and homogeneous metal-complex catalysts.
*Illustrative imageMerging organic chemistry and elementary particle physics
The lab uses spectroscopy with muons produced in accelerators, whose spins are almost 100% aligned. This makes it possible to identify paramagnetic radical species and radical reactions that are hard to detect with conventional chemical methods, and to create new functional organic radicals.
*Illustrative imageFunctional molecules containing fluorine
Fluorine has a small atomic radius and the highest electronegativity of all the elements, and it plays an important role in research on pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The lab has developed boron compounds bearing fluoroalkyl groups, and works on converting them into biologically active substances and on synthesizing fluorine-containing optically active compounds.
*Illustrative imageCatalytic chemistry of low-coordinate phosphines
Trivalent, three-coordinate phosphines are usually used as ligands in metal-complex catalysts. Taking advantage of the strong π-accepting ability of phosphaalkenes, which have a P=C skeleton, the lab synthesizes a variety of ligands and extends this work to developing highly active and highly selective catalytic molecular transformations.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Ito Lab consist of faculty and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorShigekazu ItoPublications ↗
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: “Diamond by Peter Smyth” Peter Smyth / CC0 (cropped)
- Creating functional molecules with heteroatoms: “Crystals growing from melted sulfur” AlexmarPhoto / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Merging organic chemistry and elementary particle physics: “J-PARC Neutrino Experiment Facility Primary Beamline Superconducting Magnets” Kestrel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Functional molecules containing fluorine: “Fluorite crystal with inclusions” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Catalytic chemistry of low-coordinate phosphines: “Triphenylphosphine-3D-balls” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (中薗研究室): “B-cyclodextrin” Materialscientist / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (田中健研究室): “Analytics” ElNokko / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (冨田・
一二三研究室): “Ferrocene sublimation- Final product” Kate7234 / CC0 (cropped) - Related lab (福島・庄子研究室): “Emerging geometry in life building blocks” FedeCaimi / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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