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Naka Lab
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A lab that creates functional materials, centered on polymers, liquid crystals, and photochemistry.
AboutAbout the lab
End to end, from molecular design to property evaluation.
The Naka Lab studies functional materials based on polymer chemistry, liquid crystals, and photochemistry.
The lab carries out the whole process, from molecular design and synthesis of small molecules and polymers to evaluation of their physical properties.
Recently, the lab has been aiming to create photoresponsive materials, liquid-crystalline materials, and water- and oil-repellent materials, while also exploring materials that could lead to next-generation materials.
Students considering which lab to be assigned to are encouraged to visit the lab.
Key terms
- Viologen
- A compound that undergoes a redox reaction and changes color when an electric field is applied. It can also accept one electron when exposed to light.
- Electrochromism
- The property of changing color through the redox reaction that occurs when an electric field is applied.
- Breath figure method
- A method for making polymer films in which a regular porous structure forms spontaneously on the film surface, using water droplets as a template.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Aiming to achieve new functions and higher performance, the lab carries out the whole process, from molecular design and synthesis of small molecules and polymers to evaluation of their physical properties. Recently, it has been aiming to create photoresponsive materials, liquid-crystalline materials, and water- and oil-repellent materials.
*Illustrative imageOptical Recording Materials Based on Liquid-Crystalline Viologens
Common viologens show electrochromism, in which color changes under an electric field. The lab develops multifunctional compounds by giving liquid crystallinity to viologens that respond to electric fields and light, aiming to create optical recording materials triggered by photochemical reactions.
*Illustrative imageFabrication of Highly Ordered Porous Films
Polymer films made by the breath figure method develop a porous structure on their surface. Because the formation mechanism is complex, the lab focuses on the chemical structures of polymers and monomers, aiming to improve the regularity of the pores and to fabricate complex surface morphologies.
MembersFaculty
The Naka Lab consists of faculty members and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorYumiko Naka
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: “Liquid Crystal Art-2” Ingo Dierking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Optical Recording Materials Based on Liquid-Crystalline Viologens: “Liquid crystal textures - free standing film 4” Alexprague / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Fabrication of Highly Ordered Porous Films: “Porous-type oxide films” Vicente Neto / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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