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Polymer Synthesis Lab
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A lab that builds polymers with the shape and the sequence of their units controlled exactly as intended.
AboutAbout the lab
What makes a polymer a polymer?
The Polymer Synthesis Lab pioneers methods for precisely controlling polymer structure.
Synthetic polymers in everyday life and biopolymers such as DNA and proteins are both polymers, yet they differ greatly in structural precision and in how their functions emerge.
The lab therefore asks again what "polymer-ness" (the essence of being a polymer) is, and searches for the answer through precision polymers whose structures are tightly controlled.
The lab also aims to develop new polymer materials based on structural control.
Key terms
- Precision polymerization
- A polymerization method that suppresses variation in the length and shape of the resulting polymers and builds chains exactly as intended
- Sequence
- The arrangement within a polymer chain: which types of monomers are linked, and in what order
- Tacticity
- The regularity with which the side chains attached to a chain are aligned in a particular direction
NewsLab news
Doctoral and master's students received the Excellent On-Demand Presentation Award at the 75th SPSJ Annual Meeting
Results on controlling the stereostructure of vinyl polymers through weak interactions were published in Nature Communications
A doctoral student received the Outstanding Poster Award at the Kyoto University-ACS Publications Joint Symposium
An article introducing the lab's research was published on Nature.com as part of a Nature Index Chemistry feature
A paper from the lab was selected as a Supplementary Cover of Macromolecules and also as an ACS Editor's Choice
ResearchResearch themes
The properties and functions of a polymer depend not only on its type but also on structural factors. The lab works on "multiply controlled precision polymerization," which simultaneously controls the number of monomers (molecular weight), the orientation of side chains (tacticity), the types of monomer units and the order in which they are linked (sequence), and even the shape of the chain. The four main research topics are sequence control, ring-expansion polymerization, precision synthesis of polymers with targeted shapes, and amphiphilic random copolymers.
*Illustrative imageAligning side-chain orientation with a weak force
The lab found that placing an oxygen atom in a boron-containing monomer lets a weak interaction, a non-classical hydrogen bond, control the orientation of the side chains, making it possible to selectively synthesize polymers with different orientations (2026).
*Illustrative imageMaking polyamides by addition polymerization
Using a new polymerization in which isomerization occurs repeatedly during chain growth, the lab synthesized polymers in which amide bonds are inserted periodically into a main chain that is normally made of carbon alone. Degradability can also be built in (2026).
*Illustrative imagePolymers that can be broken down by light
Polymers with ketone units incorporated periodically into the backbone were stable to heat, and decomposed while still solid when exposed to ultraviolet light. The aim is materials that are durable in use and can be broken down by light when discarded (2025).
*Illustrative imageControlling the structure of PVA all at once
By designing boron-containing monomers, the lab developed a synthesis method that simultaneously controls the side-chain orientation, branching, and molecular weight of poly(vinyl alcohol). The resulting polymers show distinctive crystallinity (2025).
MembersFaculty
The members of the Polymer Synthesis Lab are faculty, doctoral and master's students, and administrative assistants.
- ProfessorMakoto Ouchi
- Assistant ProfessorTsuyoshi Nishikawa
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: “Nylon Fadenziehen” Friedrich Fröbel / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Aligning side-chain orientation with a weak force: “Polyvinyl alcohol” Elrond / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Making polyamides by addition polymerization: “Nylon6 and Nylon 66” Michael Ströck (mstroeck) at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Polymers that can be broken down by light: “Nedbrudt plast” Arc1977 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Controlling the structure of PVA all at once: “Sample of Polyvinyl alcohol” LHcheM / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Physical Organic Chemistry Lab): “STM-image of n-alkane C46H94 monolayer with moire pattern” Anton Senenko / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Inorganic Structural Chemistry Lab): “Laser glass sculpture caffeine molecule” E. Goodman / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Materials Process Engineering Lab): “Scanning electron image of wood pulp paper - 100x” Ckazilek / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Polymer Materials Science Lab): “SPring-8 central administration building - Apr 26, 2015” Toshiyuki IMAI / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
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