News

Our project, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas of "Aquatic Functional Materials: Creation of New Materials Science for Environment-Friendly and Active Functions" (no. 6104, Project Leader: Takashi Kato) has launched.(since June 28th 2019) Project term: FY2019-FY2023 The project has finished on March 31st 2024 with activities for five years. We thank all of you for your support. Link to https://www.aquatic-functional-materials.org/english-top

Dr. Takahiro Ichikawa, an alumnus of Kato group, has been appointed as a Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. (October 1, 2024)

Dr. Takahiro Ichikawa (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology), an alumnus of Kato group, received SPSJ Resonac Award 2024. (July 2024)

Dr. Masafumi Yoshio (National Institute for Materials Science), an alumnus of Kato group, received SPSJ Mitsubishi Chemical Award 2024. (July 2024)

At an international conference of The 29th International Liquid Crystal Conference (ILCC 2024) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Professor Takashi Kato gave a plenary lecture entitled "Advanced Functional Liquid-Crystalline Materials" (July 23, 2024).

A paper on degradation of a wholly aromatic main-chain thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer has been published in JACS Au (doi: 10.1021/jacsau.4c00286). This work is the results supported by the project MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (July 2024). Yuya Watanabe, Kazuki Fukushima, and Takashi Kato “Degradation of a Wholly Aromatic Main-Chain Thermotropic Liquid-Crystalline Polymer Mediated by Superbases” JACS Au, 4, 2944-2956 (2024). Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access.

A paper on 2D photonic colloidal liquid crystals composed of self-assembled rod-shaped particles was published in Advanced Materials (doi: 10.1002/adma.202404396). This work is the results supported by the project MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (July 2024). Riki Kato, Takahiro Mikami, and Takashi Kato “2D Photonic Colloidal Liquid Crystals Composed of Self-Assembled Rod-Shaped Particles” Adv. Mater., 36, 2404396 (2024). Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access. A press release announcing this work was launched from School of Engineering of the University of Tokyo and the Public Relations Office of the University of Tokyo. This work was also introduced on The Nikkei (July 12, 2024) and The Science News (Kagaku Shinbun) (July 19, 2024).

Dr. Esther Levy, Editor-in-Chief of Advanced Materials, and Dr. Geraldine Echue, Deputy Editor of Advanced Materials, visited The University of Tokyo on Monday, June 24, 2024. Professor Kato hosted them and organized a lecture by Dr. Levy and Dr. Echue. The title was “Scientific Publishing: An Advanced Perspective”. Professor Kato has been international advisory board of Advanced Materials. (June 2024)

A paper on formation of various liquid-crystalline phases of monodisperse inorganic nanosheets was published in Science Advances (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6452). This work is the results of collaboration with Associate Professor Nobuyoshi Miyamoto (Fukuoka Institute of Technology), and supported by the project MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (June 2024). Nobuyoshi Miyamoto, Momoka Miyoshi, Riki Kato, Yuji Nakashima, Hiroyuki Iwano, and Takashi Kato “Monodisperse Nanosheet Mesophases” Sci. Adv., 10, eadk6452 (2024). Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access. A press release announcing this work was launched from School of Engineering.

Professor Takuma Yasuda (Kyushu University), an alumnus of Kato group, received the 5th Japan Research Front Award, presented by Clarivate. (May 2024)

A paper on development of free-standing zinc oxide materials utilizing liquid-crystalline zinc hydroxide carbonate was published and selected as Back Cover in Small Methods (doi: 10.1002/smtd.202300353). This work is the results of the project MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (April 2024). Takahiro Mikami, Riki Kato, Yoshihiro Hosokawa, Nobuyoshi Miyamoto, and Takashi Kato “Nanostructure Control in Zinc Oxide Films and Microfibers through Bioinspired Synthesis of Liquid-Crystalline Zinc Hydroxide Carbonate; Formation of Free-Standing Materials in Centimeter-Level Lengths” Small Methods, 8, 2300353 (2024). (Invited Paper, Special Issue for Advances in Biomimetic Materials) Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access.

CSJ (The Chemical Society of Japan) Student Presentation Award 2024: Takahiro Mikami (Graduate Student, Ph.D. Candidate) received the CSJ Student Presentation Award 2024 at the 104th CSJ Annual Meeting held between 18-21 March, 2024. (23 April 2024)

A review paper ("Advanced Functional Liquid Crystals", Adv. Mater., 34, 2109063 (2022).) by Professor Takashi Kato, Dr. Junya Uchida, Dr. Bartolome Soberats (University of the Balearic Islands, Postdoctoral fellow in Kato Group from 2011 to 2015), and Dr. Monika Gupta (Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, Postdoctoral fellow in Kato Group from 2018 to 2020) has been selected as Top Downloaded Article in Advanced Materials in 2022. (March 2024).

Dr. Satoshi Kajiyama, who received Ph. D under supervision of Prof. Kato in 2013, has been appointed as Associate Professor at Waseda University on January 1, 2024.

A paper on water molecules confirmed in liquid crystalline nanopores has been published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03027). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Yoshihisa Harada (The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo) and supported by MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104) (January 2024). Kazuma Hamaguchi, Takeshi Sakamoto, Naoya Kurahashi, Yoshihisa Harada, and Takashi Kato, “Hydrogen-Bonded Structures of Water Molecules in Hydroxy-Functionalized Nanochannels of Columnar Liquid Crystalline Nanostructured Membranes Studied by Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy”, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 15, 454-460 (2024). Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access.

An invited perspective paper on aquatic functional liquid crystals has been published and selected as Cover Picture in Advanced Science (doi: 10.1002/advs.202306529). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Go Watanabe and Dr. Yoshiki Ishii (Kitasato University) (December 2023). Takashi Kato, Junya Uchida, Yoshiki Ishii, and Go Watanabe, “Aquatic Functional Liquid Crystals: Design, Functionalization, and Molecular Simulation”, Adv. Sci., 11, 2306529 (2024). (Invited Paper, Special Issue for the 10th Anniversary of Advanced Science) Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access.

A paper on surface modification of cotton gauze for virus adsorption and elution has been published and selected as Cover in ACS ES&T Water (doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.3c00358). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama (The University of Tokyo) on JST CREST "Creative Development for Detection and Removal of Viruses in Environment Using New Materials" (December 2023). Miaomiao Liu, Junya Uchida, Shizuka Matsuyama, Takashi Kato, and Hiroyuki Katayama, “Surface Modification of Cotton Gauze for Increased Adsorption of Enveloped and Nonenveloped Viruses from Water”, ACS EST Water, 4, 368-376 (2024). Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access.

A paper on ring-opening reactions of caprolactone derivatives has been published in RSC Advances (doi: 10.1039/d3ra01025b). This work is the result supported by MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104) (September 2023). Takayuki Ota, Valentina Montagna, Yuji Higuchi, Takashi Kato, Masaru Tanaka, Haritz Sardon, and Kazuki Fukushima, “Organocatalyzed Ring-Opening Reactions of γ-Carbonyl-Substituted ε-Caprolactones”, RSC Adv., 13, 27764-27771 (2023). Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access.

A paper on 2D nanoporous membranes formed from ionic smectic LC molecules for water treatment was published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A. This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama (The University of Tokyo) and Dr. Tsuyoshi Hayashi (National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan) on JST-CREST, "Creative Development for Detection and Removal of Viruses in Environment Using New Materials" and MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104). (August 2023) Takeshi Sakamoto, Kazuhiro Asakura, Naru Kang, Riki Kato, Miaomiao Liu, Tsuyoshi Hayashi, Hiroyuki Katayama, Takashi Kato, "Development of Liquid-Crystalline Smectic Nanoporous Membranes for the Removal of SARS-CoV-2 and Waterborne Viruses", J. Mater. Chem. A, 11, 22178-22186 (2023). (Invited Paper, Themed Collection: Celebrating the Scientific Accomplishments of RSC Fellows) Link to Abstract. This paper is Open Access.

A group of 6 high school students of Tsuchiura First High School visited Kato Lab. Prof. Kato gave a lecture on materials chemistry and its contribution to the society. Then the students toured the laboratory. They enjoyed the lectures and the tour. They knew circumstance for research at the university. (August 3, 2023)

Dr. Masato Mitani, who received Ph.D under supervision of Prof. Kato in 2016, has been appointed as Assistant Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology on August 1, 2023.

Associate Prof. Kazuki Fukushima received SPSJ Asahi Kasei Award 2023 (August 2023).

A paper on aqueous/liquid-crystalline interfaces based on peptide-conjugated forklike mesogens and their protein-responsive behavior has been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c04289). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Nicholas L. Abbott (Cornell University) and Dr. Rie Makiura (Osaka Metropolitan University) on MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas"Aquatic Functional Materials" (July 2023). Junya Uchida, Anna Niwa, Mina Hasome, Rie Makiura, Nicholas L. Abbott, and Takashi Kato, “Self-Assembly of Peptide-Conjugated Forklike Mesogens at Aqueous/Liquid Crystalline Interfaces: Molecular Design for Ordering Transition Induced by Specific Binding of Biomolecules”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 15, 36657-36666 (2023). Link to Abstract This paper is Open Access.

Prof. Takashi Kato, Dr. Junya Uchida, Dr. Bartolome Soberats (University of the Balearic Islands, Postdoctoral fellow in Kato Group from 2011 to 2015), and Dr. Monika Gupta (Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, Postdoctoral fellow in Kato Group from 2018 to 2020) received the Best Paper Award (Category C) of the Japanese Liquid Crystal Society for "Advanced Functional Liquid Crystals", Adv. Mater., 34, 2109063 (2022). (July 2023).

A group of 31 junior and high school students of Hatsushiba Tondabayashi Junior & Senior High School visited Kato Lab. Prof. Kato gave a lecture on materials chemistry and its contribution to the society. Then the students observed liquid-crystalline materials under a microscope at the laboratory. Through the lecture and experiments, they knew the pleasures of chemistry. (June 27, 2023)

Mr. Toru Matsuoka, who received master's degree under supervision of Prof. Kato in 2003, was appointed as a professor (intellectual property law) (patent examiner, administrative patent judge) at Tohoku University Graduate School / Faculty of Law. (April 1, 2023)

A paper on unique reentrant phase transition of a smectic liquid crystal has been published in ChemPhysChem and selected as Front Cover Image (doi: 10.1002/cphc.202200927). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Goran Ungar (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Prof. Hitoshi Washizu and Dr. Yoshiki Ishii (University of Hyogo), and Dr. Go Watanabe (Kitasato University) on MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104) (January 2023). Kazuma Hamaguchi, Huanjun Lu, Shota Okamura, Satoshi Kajiyama, Junya Uchida, Shunsuke Sato, Go Watanabe, Yoshiki Ishii, Hitoshi Washizu, Goran Ungar, and Takashi Kato, “Reentrant 2D Nanostructured Liquid Crystals by Competition between Molecular Packing and Conformation: Potential Design for Multistep Switching of Ionic Conductivity”, ChemPhysChem, 24, e202200927 (2023). Link to Abstract This paper is Open Access.

At an international conference of The 17th Pacific Polymer Conference (PPC17), Professor Takashi Kato gave a plenary lecture entitled "Liquid-Crystalline Polymers: Molecular Technology for New Functionalization of Ordered Soft Materials" (December 14th, 2022).

CSJ (The Chemical Society of Japan) Chemistry Festa Poster Presentation Award 2022: Tetsuya Ueda (Graduate Student) and Takahiro Mikami (Graduate Student) received Poster Presentation Awards at the 12th CSJ Chemistry Festa held between 18-20 October 2022 (15 December, 2022).

Prof. Takashi Kato has received the Medal with Purple Ribbon (The Cabinet Office, Government of Japan) (April 29th, 2021).

Prof. Takashi Kato received SPSJ Award for Outstanding Achievement in Polymer Science and Technology (February 2021).

An invited paper on degradation of aliphatic polycarbonates using organic catalysts has been published in Journal of Polymer Science (doi: 10.1002/pol.20220551). This work is the result supported by MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104) (November 2022). Kazuki Fukushima, Yuya Watanabe, Tetsuya Ueda, So Nakai, and Takashi Kato, “Organocatalytic Depolymerization of Poly(trimethylene carbonate)”, J. Polym. Sci., 60, 3489 (2022). Link to Abstract

A paper on multiblock polymers consisting of aromatic mesogens and aliphatic oligocarbonates with biofunctional side chains has been published in Macromolecules (doi: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01747). This work is the result supported by MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104) (November 2022). Yuya Watanabe, Riki Kato, Kazuki Fukushima, and Takashi Kato, “Degradable and Nanosegregated Elastomers with Multiblock Sequences of Biobased Aromatic Mesogens and Biofunctional Aliphatic Oligocarbonates”, Macromolecules, 55, 10285 (2022). Link to Abstract

A paper on a degradable polydioxanone derivative with methoxy side chains has been published in Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics (doi: 10.1002/macp.202200192). This work is the result supported by MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104) (August 2022). Kazuki Fukushima, Yuki Ota, and Takashi Kato, “Polydioxanone Derivative Bearing Methoxy Groups toward Bio-Functional Degradable Polymers Exhibiting Hydration-Driven Biocompatibility”, Macromol. Chem. Phys., 223, 2200192 (2022). Link to Abstract

A paper on an alternative synthetic route for cyclic carbonates towards bio-functional aliphatic polycarbonates has been published in Polymer Chemistry (doi: 10.1039/d2py00705c). This work is the result of collaboration with Prof. Atsushi Narumi (Yamagata University) and Prof. Masaru Tanaka (Kyushu University) on MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Aquatic Functional Materials" (Area Number: 6104) (August 2022). Yuya Watanabe, Shunya Takaoka, Yuta Haga, Kohei Kishi, Shunta Hakozaki, Atsushi Narumi, Takashi Kato, Masaru Tanaka, and Kazuki Fukushima, “Organic Carboxylate Salt-Enabled Alternative Synthetic Routes for Bio-Functional Cyclic Carbonates and Aliphatic Polycarbonates”, Polym. Chem., 13, 5193-5199 (2022). Link to Abstract

SPSJ (The Society of Polymer Science, Japan) Student Poster Award 2022: Kazuhiro Asakura (Graduate Student) and Shingo Takegawa (Graduate Student) received SPSJ Student Postar Award at the 71st SPSJ Annual Meeting held between 25-27 May, 2022. (23 June, 2022)

Prof. Takashi Kato has been invited as Advanced Materials Hall of Fame and has published a review paper on functional liquid crystals in Advanced Materials (doi: 10.1002/adma.202109063). This paper has been selected as Inside Front Cover (January 2022). Junya Uchida, Bartolome Soberats, Monika Gupta, and Takashi Kato, “Advanced Functional Liquid Crystals”, Adv. Mater., 34, 2109063 (2022). (Advanced Materials Hall of Fame) Link to Abstract

A paper on polymer assemblies induced by a rigid hydrogen bond motif and their behavior on cells has been published in Macromolecules (doi: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c01894). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Seigou Kawaguchi (Yamagata University), Dr. Yuji Higuchi (Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo), Dr. Go Watanabe (Kitasato University), and Prof. Masaru Tanaka (Kyushu University) on "Aquatic Functional Materials" (December 2021). Kazuki Fukushima, Kodai Matsuzaki, Masashi Oji, Yuji Higuchi, Go Watanabe, Yuki Suzuki, Moriya Kikuchi, Nozomi Fujimura, Naofumi Shimokawa, Hiroaki Ito, Takashi Kato, Seigou Kawaguchi, and Masaru Tanaka, “Anisotropic, Degradable Polymer Assemblies Driven by a Rigid Hydrogen-Bonding Motif That Induce Shape-Specific Cell Responses”, Macromolecules, 55, 15-25 (2022). Link to Abstract

A paper on the Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation revealing the nature of water transport inside the nanochannels of self-assembled ionic liquid crystal has been published in Science Advances and selected as Online Cover Image (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abf0669). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Hitoshi Washizu and Dr. Yoshiki Ishii (University of Hyogo), Prof. Nobuyuki Matubayasi (Osaka University), and Dr. Go Watanabe (Kitasato University) on the "Aquatic Functional Materials" project (July 2021). Yoshiki Ishii, Nobuyuki Matubayasi, Go Watanabe, Takashi Kato, Hitoshi Washizu, “Molecular Insights on Confined Water in the Nanochannels of Self-Assembled Ionic Liquid Crystal”, Sci. Adv., 7, eabf0669 (2021). This paper is Open Access. A press release announcing this work was launched from School of Engineering.

At a international conference of IUPAC-MACRO 2020+ Online, Professor Takashi Kato gave a plenary lecture entitled "Self-organized Functional Polymers for Water, Energy, Healthcare, and Environment: Use of Liquid-Crystalline Nanostructures" (May 18th, 2021).

IUPAC-MACRO 2020+ Online Short Talk Student Award At The 48th World Polymer Congress (IUPAC-MACRO2020+), Kazuma Hamaguchi (Doctral Graduate Student) received IUPAC-MACRO 2020+ Online Short Talk Student Award (May, 2021).

A paper on 2D liquid-crystalline nanostructured water treatment membranes based on gemini ionic smectic liquid crystals has been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, and selected as Cover Image (doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c20524). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama (Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo) and Prof. Jiro Kumaki (Yamagata University) on "Aquatic Functional Materials" (April 2021). Kazuma Hamaguchi, Rino Ichikawa, Satoshi Kajiyama, Shotaro Torii, Yusuke Hayashi, Jiro Kumaki, Hiroyuki Katayama, and Takashi Kato, “Gemini Thermotropic Smectic Liquid Crystals for Two-Dimensional Nanostructured Water-Treatment Membranes”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 13, 20598-20605 (2021). Link to Abstract

A paper on dynamic supramolecular liquid-crystalline networks formed by hydrogen bonding interactions and coordination bonding has been published in Chemical Science (doi: 10.1039/d0sc06676a) (March 2021). Junya Uchida, Masafumi Yoshio, and Takashi Kato, “Self-Healing and Shape Memory Functions Exhibited by Supramolecular Liquid-Crystalline Networks Formed by Combination of Hydrogen Bonding Interactions and Coordination Bonding”, Chem. Sci., 12, 6091-6098 (2021). Link to Abstract

A paper on a biocompatible polymer derived from glycerol has been published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, and selected as a Supplementary Cover (doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c01460). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Seigou Kawaguchi (Yamagata University), Dr. Haritz Sardon (University of the Basque Country), and Prof. Masaru Tanaka (Kyushu University) on "Aquatic Functional Materials" (February 2021). Valentina Montagna, Junko Takahashi, Meng-Yu Tsai, Takayuki Ota, Nicolas Zivic, Seigou Kawaguchi, Takashi Kato, Masaru Tanaka, Haritz Sardon, and Kazuki Fukushima, “Methoxy-Functionalized Glycerol-Based Aliphatic Polycarbonate: Organocatalytic Synthesis, Blood Compatibility, and Hydrolytic Property”, ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng., 7, 472-481 (2021). Link to Abstract

An invited account paper on structures and dynamics of molecular assemblies has been published in Accounts of Chemical Research, and selected as Cover Image (doi: 10.1021/acs.accounts.0c00576). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Masaki Hada (University of Tsukuba) and Prof. Yuta Nishina (Okayama University) (December 2020). Masaki Hada, Yuta Nishina, and Takashi Kato, “Exploring Structures and Dynamics of Molecular Assemblies: Ultrafast Time-Resolved Electron Diffraction Measurements”, Acc. Chem. Res., 54, 731-743 (2021). Link to Abstract

An invited review paper (award paper) on supramolecular liquid crystals and polymers for new functional materials has been published in Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, and selected as Inside Cover (doi: 10.1246/bcsj.20200304) (October 2020). Takashi Kato, Monika Gupta, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Kian Ping Gan, and Masanari Nakayama, “Supramolecular Association and Nanostructure Formation of Liquid Crystals and Polymers for New Functional Materials”, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 94, 357-376 (2021). Link to Abstract

WET2020-online Excellent Presentation Award: At The Water and Environment Technology Conference Online2020 (WET2020-online), Yu Tosaka (Graduate Student) received Excellemt Presentation Award. (7th-8th November 2020) Link to https://www.jswe.or.jp/awards/wetpresen/index.html

A paper on the study of mechanisms for the ion selective rejection in our ionic LC polymer membrane has been published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, and selected as VIP (Very Important Paper) (doi: 10.1002/anie.202008148). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Yoshihisa Harada (The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo) on "Aquatic Functional Materials" project (October 2020). Ryusuke Watanabe, Takeshi Sakamoto, Kosuke Yamazoe, Jun Miyawaki, Takashi Kato, and Yoshihisa Harada, “Ion Selectivity of Water Molecules in Subnanoporous Liquid-Crystalline Water-Treatment Membranes: A Structural Study of Hydrogen Bonding”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 23461-23465 (2020). This paper is Open Access. Press releases announcing this work were launched from Faculty of Engineering, The Institute for Solid State Physics, and The University of Tokyo. This work was also introduced on EurekAlert! (AAAS) and WorldNewsEra (October 20, 2020). Nature Reviews Chemistry also reported this work in Research Highlight (November 10, 2020).

A paper on molecular recognition and its dynamics of liquid-crystalline (LC) molecules at the aqueous-LC interfaces has been published in Langmuir, and selected as Cover Image (doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02191). This work is the results of collaboration with Dr. Go Watanabe (Kitasato University) and Prof. Nicholas L. Abbott (University of Wisconsin-Madison) on "Aquatic Functional Materials" (November 2020). Go Watanabe, Hiroki Eimura, Nicholas L. Abbott, and Takashi Kato, “Biomolecular Binding at Aqueous Interfaces of Langmuir Monolayers of Bioconjugated Amphiphilic Mesogenic Molecules: A Molecular Dynamics Study”, Langmuir, 36, 12281-12287 (2020). Link to Abstract

A paper on the design of liquid-crystalline electrolytes towards high-voltage-operation Li-ion batteries has been published in Chemical Science, and selected as Inside Front Cover (doi: 10.1039/D0SC01646B). This work is the result of collaboration with Dr. Eiji Hosono (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) (October 2020). Atsushi Kuwabara, Mayu Enomoto, Eiji Hosono, Kazuma Hamaguchi, Taira Onuma, Satoshi Kajiyama, and Takashi Kato, “Nanostructured Liquid-Crystalline Li-Ion Conductors with High Oxidation Resistance: Molecular Design Strategy towards Safe and High-Voltage-Operation Li-Ion Batteries”, Chem. Sci., 11, 10631・0637 (2020). < Link to Abstract

A paper on self-assembled fibers formed in lattices within oriented liquid-crystalline smectic templates has been published in Chemical Communications, and selected as Inside Back Cover (doi: 10.1039/D0CC01950J). This work is the results of collaboration with Dr. Yuka Ikemoto at Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute on "Aquatic Functional Materials" (September 2020). Daisuke Yamaguchi, Yuka Ikemoto, and Takashi Kato, “Thermally Tunable Selective Formation of Self-assembled Fibers into Two Orthogonal Directions in Oriented Liquid-crystalline Smectic Templates”, Chem. Commun., 56, 9954-9957 (2020) Link to Abstract

A paper on the formation of bis-benzimidazole and bis-benzoxazole through organocatalytic depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) has been published in Polymer Chemistry, and selected as a Back Cover (doi: 10.1039/D0PY00436G). This work is the results of collaboration with IBM Almaden Research Institute (September 2020). Kazuki Fukushima, Gavin O. Jones, Hans W. Horn, Julia E. Rice, Takashi Kato, and James L. Hedrick, “Formation of Bis-benzimidazole and Bis-benzoxazole through Organocatalytic Depolymerization of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) and Its Mechanism”, Polym. Chem., 11, 4904-4913 (2020) Link to Abstract

A paper on liquid-crystalline organic semiconductors exhibiting high hole mobility has been in Journal of the American Chemical Society. This work led by Prof. Toshihiro Okamoto, Graduate School of Frontier Science is the results of collaboration with Prof. Takashi Kato, Dr Masato Mitani and other researchers (August 19th 2020). Dr Masato Mitani, research assistant professor of Graduate School of Frontier Science is a graduate of Kato Group. Alkyl-Substituted Selenium-Bridged V-Shaped Organic Semiconductors Exhibiting High Hole Mobility and Unusual Aggregation Behavior Toshihiro Okamoto*, Masato Mitani, Craig P. Yu, Chikahiko Mitsui, Masakazu Yamagishi, Hiroyuki Ishii, Go Watanabe, Shohei Kumagai, Daisuke Hashizume, Shota Tanaka, Masafumi Yano, Tomokatsu Kushida, Hiroyasu Sato, Kunihisa Sugimoto, Takashi Kato, and Jun Takeya J. Am. Chem. Soc., 142, 14974-14984 (2020) Link to Abstract

On August 1, 2020, Dr. Junya Uchida has been appointed as Assistant Professor of Kato Laboratory.

A paper on nanostructured water treatment membranes based on smectic liquid-crystalline polymers exhibiting high virus removal function has been published in Small. This work is the results of collaboration with Department of Urban Engineering (The University of Tokyo), Toray Industries, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and Fukuoka Institute of Technology. (June 2020). Daniel Kuo, Miaomiao Liu, K. R. Sunil Kumar, Kazuma Hamaguchi, Kian Ping Gan, Takeshi Sakamoto, Takafumi Ogawa, Riki Kato, Nobuyoshi Miyamoto, Hiroki Nada, Masahiro Kimura, Masahiro Henmi, Hiroyuki Katayama, and Takashi Kato, “High Virus Removal by Self‐Organized Nanostructured 2D Liquid‐Crystalline Smectic Membranes for Water Treatment”, Small, 16, 202001721-1/5 (2020). Link to Abstract

A paper on the development of liquid-crystalline calcium carbonate nanocomposites and control of their structures has been published in Nanoscale Advances and selected as the Inside Front Cover. This work is the result of collaboration with Prof. Yuichi Ikuhara and Dr. Akihito Kumamoto (The University of Tokyo). (May 2020) Masanari Nakayama, Satoshi Kajiyama, Akihito Kumamoto, Yuichi Ikuhara, and Takashi Kato, “Bioinspired Selective Synthesis of Liquid-Crystalline Nanocomposites: Formation of Calcium Carbonate-Based Composite Nanodisks and Nanorods”, Nanoscale Adv., 2, 2326-2332 (2020). Link to Abstract

A paper on the analysis of rheological properties of hydroxyapatite nanorod dispersion and ordered structure of the colloidal liquid crystals using in situ small-angle neutron scattering and rheological measurements has been published in Nanoscale and selected as the Back Cover. This work is the results of collaboration with Dr. Hiroki Iwase at Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, and Prof. Hideki Seto at High Energy Accelerator Research Organization. (March 2020) Satoshi Kajiyama, Hiroki Iwase, Masanari Nakayama, Rino Ichikawa, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Hideki Seto, and Takashi Kato, “Shear-Induced Liquid-Crystalline Phase Transition Behaviour of Colloidal Solutions of Hydroxyapatite Nanorod Composites”, Nanoscale, 12, 11468-11479 (2020). Link to Abstract

CSJ (The Chemical Society of Japan) Chemical Festa Awards 2019 (15-17 October 2019): At the 9th CSJ Chemical Festa, Rino Ichikawa (Graduate Student) received best poster presentation awards, Yasunao Okazaki (Graduate Student) received poster presentation awards, and Daisuke Yamaguchi (Graduate Student) received oral presentation awards for doctoral students. (21th November 2019) Link to https://www.csj.jp/festa/2019/document/award.pdf

Poster Competition Gold Award: Daisuke Yamaguchi (Doctoral Student) received Gold Award at Federation of Asian Polymer Societies (FAPS) Polymer Congress 2019 held in Taipei, Taiwan between 27- 30 October, 2019. (October 2019)

Our paper "Ultrafast Isomerization-Induced Cooperative Motions to Higher Molecular Orientation in Smectic Liquid-Crystalline Azobenzene Molecules" that is the collaboration research with Prof. Masaki Hada (University of Tsukuba) has been hilighted by the Editor of Nature Communications. Deails are this link.

A paper on polymerizable photocleavable columanar liquid crystals for nanoporous water treatment membranes has been published in ACS Macro Letters. This work is the results of collaboration with Shotaro Torii, Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama (Department of Urban Engineering, University of Tokyo) (September 2019). Monika Gupta, Yuto Suzuki, Takeshi Sakamoto, Masafumi Yoshio, Shotaro Torii, Hiroyuki Katayama, and Takashi Kato "Polymerizable Photocleavable Columnar Liquid Crystals for Nanoporous Water Treatment Membranes", ACS Macro Lett., 8, 1303-1308 (2019).

A paper on the ultrafast structural change of azobenzene liquid-crystalline molecular assemblies has been published in Nature Communications. This work is the results of collaborations with Prof. Masaki Hada (University of Tsukuba). (September 13th 2019) The press release on this work was opened on the homepage of Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo on September 17th 2019. The blog on the background of this paper was published on the homepage of The University of Tokyo on September 13th 2019. Masaki Hada, Daisuke Yamaguchi, Tadahiko Ishikawa, Takayoshi Sawa, Kenji Tsuruta, Ken Ishikawa, Shin-ya Koshihara, Yasuhiko Hayashi, and Takashi Kato "Ultrafast Isomerization-Induced Cooperative Motions to Higher Molecular Orientation in Smectic Liquid-Crystalline Azobenzene Molecules", Nature Commun., 10, 4159 (2019).

A feature article on self-organization in low-dimensional structures of ionic liquids has been published in Chemical Communications .(July 2019) Takahiro Ichikawa, Takashi Kato, and Hiroyuki Ohno “Dimension Control of Ionic Liquids”, Chem. Commun., 55, 8205-8214 (2019).

Dr. Junya Uchida (Kureha Corporation), who received Ph.D under supervision of Prof. Kato in 2018, reported an article on Voices from Young Researchers in EKISHO (The Japanese Liquid Crystal Society). EKISHO, Vol. 23, No. 3, p. 174. (July 2019)

A paper on odd-even effects of alkyl chain spacers binding a carbonate moiety and an aliphatic mesogen in rod-like liquid-crystalline molecules on phase transition properties and ionic conductivities has been published in Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan as Selected Paper.(July 2019) Yurika Mizumura, Daniel Högberg, Kenichiro Arai, Junji Sakuda, Bartolome Soberats, Masafumi Yoshio, and Takashi Kato “Self-Assembled Liquid-Crystalline Ion Conductors: Odd-Even Effects of Flexible Spacers Binding a Carbonate Moiety and an Aliphatic Rod-Like Core on Phase Transition Properties and Ion Conductivities”, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 92, 1226-1233 (2019).

Associate Prof. Kazuki Fukushima was selected as one of top 5% of highly cited authors in Materials Portfolio of RSC Journals.(August 2019)

Associate Prof. Kazuki Fukushima received the Award for Young Investigator of Japanese Society for Biomaterials (2019) for "Design of Functionalized Aliphatic Polycarbonates for Degradable Biomaterials". (July 2019) Details are this link.

SPSJ (The Society of Polymer Science, Japan) Student Poster Award 2019: Yusuke Hayashi (Graduate Student) received SPSJ Student Poster Award at the 68th SPSJ Annual Meeting held between 29- 31 May, 2019. (21 June 2019)

Associate Prof. Yuya Oaki (Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio Univ.), who was a postdoctoral fellow in Kato group from 2007 to 2008, received SPSJ Award for the Outstanding Paper in Polymer Journal 2018 sponsored by ZEON. (May 2019)

Dr. Harutoki Shimura (Toray Industries, Inc.), who received Ph.D under supervision of Prof. Kato in 2009, received Award for Encouragement of Research in Polymer Science; The Society of Polymer Science, Japan (2018). (May 2019)

Associate Prof. Kazuki Fukushima was selected as the Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator 2019 by the Royal Society of Chemistry. (April, 2019) Details are this link.

CSJ (The Chemical Society of Japan) Student Presentation Award 2019: Masanari Nakayama (Graduate Student) and Daisuke Yamaguchi (Graduate Student) received CSJ Student Presentation Award 2019 at the 99th CSJ Annual Meeting held between 16-19 March, 2019. (9 April 2019)

Dr. Kyosuke Isoda (Kagawa University), who reseived Ph.D under supervision of Prof. Kato in 2009, reported an article on Polymer Science and I: A Personal Account(The Society of Polymer Science, Japan). KOBUNSHI, Vol. 68, No. 4, p. 172. (April 2019)

Assistant Prof. Yoshimitsu Sagara (Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido Univ.) who received Ph.D under supervision of Prof. Kato in 2009, received The Young Scientists’ Prize from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)(April 2019).

A paper on static structure and dynamics of colloidal liquid-crystalline hydroxyapatite nanorods has been published in Soft Matter and selected as the back cover.(April 2019) This work is the result of collaboration with Dr. Taiki Hoshino (RIKEN Spring-8 Center). Taiki Hoshino, Masanari Nakayama, So Fujinami, Tomotaka Nakatani, Yoshiki Kohmura, and Takashi Kato “Static Structure and Dynamical Behavior of Colloidal Liquid Crystals Consisting of Hydroxyapatite-Based Nanorod Hybrids”, Soft Matter, 15, 3315-3321 (2019).

These are students graduated from our laboratory this year.(March 2109) （Left picture: Doctoral graduates and Prof.Kato） （Right picture：Master's degree graduates and Prof.Kato）

Masanari Nakayama (doctoral student) received the "Department of Chemistry & Biotechnology Chair's Award", School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, for his outstanding research work while in school.(March 2019) Details are this link.

It is evaluated that Shuichi Kondo (undergraduate student) has entered the 1st district as a member of the Kanto Students Union in the 95th Hakone Ekiden, and he earned President's Grand Prize (Category: Extracurricular activities) as the title of "Todai Runner, who participated in the Hakone Ekiden in fourth time's a charm". Details are this link. In addition, he was recognized as having an outstanding track record in parallel with his research activities in the undergraduate course, and received "Faculty of Engineering Dean's Award (Social contribution)". (March 2019) Details are this link.

A paper on tuning the c-axis crystalline orientation of hydroxyapatite in polymer hybrid thin films has been published in Langmuir and selected as the cover image (March 2019). Rino Ichikawa, Satoshi Kajiyama, Misato Iimura, and Takashi Kato “Tuning the c-Axis Orientation of Calcium Phosphate Hybrid Thin Films Using Polymer Templates”, Langmuir, 35, 4077-4084 (2019).

Award for Encouragement of Research (18-20 December 2018): At the 28th Annual Meeting of MRS-J,Kazuma Hamaguchi (Graduate Student) and Yuki Sugihara (Graduate Student) received Award for Encouragement of Research.

Young Scientist Poster Award (4-7 December 2018): At SPSJ International Polymer Conference 2018 (IPC2018),Masanari Nakayama (Kato Lab D3) received Young Scientist Poster Award.

A paper on the virus rejection via nanostructured membranes based on supramolecular columnar liquid crystals that organized ionic liquids has been published in ACS Macro Lettersand selected as cover image . (January 2019) This work is the results of collaboration with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hiroyuki Katayama (Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo). Kazuma Hamaguchi, Daniel Kuo, Miaomiao Liu, Takeshi Sakamoto, Masafumi Yoshio, Hiroyuki Katayama, and Takashi Kato “Nanostructured Virus Filtration Membranes Based on Two-Component Columnar Liquid Crystals”, ACS Macro Lett., 8, 24-30 (2019).

CSJ (The Chemical Society of Japan) Chemical Festa Awards 2018 (23-25 October 2018): At the 8th CSJ Chemical Festa, Kazuma Hamaguchi (Graduate Student, right) received best poster presentation awards and Rino Ichikawa (Graduate Student, left) received poster presentation awards. (16th November 2018)

On 8th November 2018, Japan Chemical Diarly (Kagaku Kogyo Nippou) reported an interview article with Prof. Kato as the president of The Society of Polymer Science, Japan.

A paper on bioinspired composite materials has been published in ACS Omega (American Chemical Society) (November 2018). David Kuo, Tatsuya Nishimura, Satoshi Kajiyama, and Takashi Kato "Bioinspired Environmentally Friendly Amorphous CaCO3 Based Transparent Composites Comprising Cellulose Nanofibers", ACS Omega, 3, 12722-12729 (2018).

Prof. Kato had a lecture on the event for junior highschool and highschool student organized by the Chemical Society of Japan held at the University of Tokyo. (20th October 2018)

Our review papers, "Transport of Ions and Electrons in Nanostructured Liquid Crystals" (Nature Rev. Mater., 2, 17001 (2017)) and "Mechanoresponsive Luminescent Molecular Assemblies: An Emerging Class of Materials" (Adv. Mater., 28, 1073-1095 (2016)) were selected as highly cited papers in the field of materials science by Clarivate Analytics. (2018)

The 27th International Liquid Crystal Conference (ILCC2018) (The Japanese Liquid Crystal Society and Science Council of Japan) was held at Kyoto International Conference Center. Prof. Takashi Kato was engaged in the conference as the chair (22-27 July, 2018).

21 high school students visited Kato Lab from Matsusaka High School on 24th July, 2018. They enjoyed the lecture on functional liquid crystals given by Dr. Sakamoto and experiments.

On July 1, 2018, Dr. Kazuki Fukushima has been appointed as Associate Professor of Kato Laboratory.

A paper on the liquid-crystalline squaramides has been published in Chemistry Letters (The Chemical Society of Japan) and selected as Editor’s choice and cover image (April 2018). This work is the results of collaborations with Prof. Aya Tanatani (Ochanomizu University) and Prof. Hiroyuki Kagechika (Tokyo Medical and Dental University). Soyoung Park, Jumya Uchida, Ko Urushibara, Hiroyuki Kagechika, Takashi Kato, and Aya Tanatani "Self-assembly of Liquid-crystalline Squaramides", Chem. Lett., 47, 601-604 (2018) (Edior's Choice) (Cover Picture).

A review article on functional liquid-crystalline materials has been published in Angewandte Chemie (Special Issue (Wiley-VCH) (March 2018). Takashi Kato, Junya Uchida, Takahiro Ichikawa, and Takeshi Sakamoto, "Functional Liquid Crystals towards the Next Generation of Materials", Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 57, 4355-4371 (2018).

A paper on the development of liquid-crystalline hydroxyapatite has been published in Nature Commun (Nature Publishing Group) on February 8th 2018. The press release on this work was opened on the homepage of Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo on February 9th 2018. The blog on the background of this paper was published on Nature Research Chemistry Community on February 11th 2018. This work is the result of collaboration with Prof. Yuichi Ikuhara, Dr. Akihito Kumamoto (The University of Tokyo) and Prof. Masafumi Yamoto (Tokyo Metropolitan University). Masanari Nakayama, Satoshi Kajiyama, Akihito Kumamoto, Tatsuya Nishimura, Yuichi Ikuhara, Masafumi Yamato, and Takashi Kato “Stimuli-responsive hydroxyapatite liquid crystal with macroscopically controllable ordering and magneto-optical functions”, Nature Commun., 9, 568 (2018).

A paper on the development of lithium-ion batteries containing liquid-crystalline electrolytes with high-rate performance has been published in ACS Omega on January 5th 2018. This work is the result of collaboration with Dr. Eiji Hosono (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology). Taira Onuma, Eiji Hosono, Motokuni Takenouchi, Junji Sakuda, Satoshi Kajiyama, Masafumi Yoshio, and Takashi Kato "Noncovalent Approach to Liquid-Crystalline Ion Conductors: High-Rate Performances and Room-Temperature Operation for Li-Ion Batteries", ACS Omega, 3, 159-166 (2018).

A paper on sub-nanoporous polymer membranes based-on polymerizable liquid crystals has been published in Advanced Science (Wiley-VCH). This work is the results of collaboration with Masahiro Henmi et al. (Toray Industries, Inc.) and Dr. Hiroki Nada (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology). (December 2017) Takeshi Sakamoto, Takafumi Ogawa, Hiroki Nada, Koji Nakatsuji, Masato Mitani, Bartolome Soberats, Ken Kawata, Masafumi Yoshio, Hiroki Tomioka, Takao Sasaki, Masahiro Kimura, Masahiro Henmi, and Takashi Kato “Development of Nanostructured Water Treatment Membranes Based on Thermotropic Liquid Crystals: Molecular Design of Sub-Nanoporous Materials” Adv. Sci., 5, 1700405-1/9 (2018). A video abstract of this article was introduced on Advanced Science News. (Feb 8, 2018) The video abstract is also shown on Youtube.

A paper on the stimuli-responsive materials based on supramolecular liquid-crystalline (LC) π-conjugated guanines has been published in Chemical Science and selected as the inside cover. (January 2018) Kian Ping Gan, Masafumi Yoshio, Yuki Sugihara and Takashi Kato “Guanine-oligothiophene conjugates: liquid-crystalline properties, photoconductivities and ion-responsive emission of their nanoscale assemblies”, Chem. Sci, 9, 576-585 (2018)

A review article on functional liquid-crystalline materials has been published in the Special Issue of the 50th Anniversary Issue of Polymer Journal (Published by the Society of Polymer Science Japan and Springer Nature Publishing Group) (January 2018) Takashi Kato, Junya Uchida, Takahiro Ichikawa and Bartolome Soberats, “Functional Liquid-Crystalline Polymer and Supramolecular Liquid Crystal”, Polym. J., 50, 149-166 (2018) （Functional Liquid-Crystalline Polymer and Supramolecular Liquid Crystal）

A paper on self-assembly of giant spherical liquid-crystalline complexes has been published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition (Wiley-VCH). This work is the results of collaboration with Prof. Makoto Fujita (Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo) and Prof. Sota Sato (Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo). (November 2017) Junya Uchida, Masafumi Yoshio, Sota Sato, Hiroyuki Yokoyama, Makoto Fujita, and Takashi Kato “Self-Assembly of Giant Spherical Liquid-Crystalline Complexes and Formation of Nanostructured Dynamic Gels that Exhibit Self-Healing Properties”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 56, 14085-14089 (2017).

Prof. Takashi Kato received the 69th Chemical Society of Japan Award for "Construction, Fusion, and Functionalization of Liquid Crystals and Supramolecular Assemblies". (17 January, 2017) See details

A paper on virus rejection via liquid crystal was accepted and published on Advanced Healthcare Materials. (May 2017). The article is featured in Advanced Science News This work is the results of collaboration with Dr. Jason Torrey, Dr. Hiroyuki Katayama (Department of Urban Engineering, University of Tokyo) and Masahiro Henmi (Toray Industries Inc.) Nicolas Marets, Daniel Kuo, Jason R. Torrey, Takeshi Sakamoto, Masahiro Henmi, Hiroyuki Katayama, and Takashi Kato “Highly Efficient Virus Rejection with Self-Organized Membranes Based on a Crosslinked Bicontinuous Cubic Liquid Crystal", Adv. Healthcare Mater., 6, 1700252 (2017). (Selected as an Inside Front Cover)

News before 2017 [JAPANESE]