Freely controlling composition, structure, and morphology through inorganic synthetic chemistry - Solving social issues with new methods discovered through failure

Q1. What inspired you to become a researcher?

A1. The fascination of tackling what "cannot be explained"

I did not originally intend to become a researcher. Rather, I was inspired by a chemistry teacher I met in junior high school and wanted to become a teacher like him. His classes were unique, emphasizing experiments and reports, and while the tests were difficult, they were very interesting. The idea that studying chemistry might allow me to understand various phenomena in the world became the starting point for pursuing the path of chemistry.

When I joined a university research laboratory, I was confronted with the reality that there are still many phenomena which have not been elucidated. There were more things which could not be explained by chemistry. Nevertheless, I was fascinated with unraveling the unknown through my own ideas and taking on new challenges. Moreover, unlike the one-way education I experienced throughout high school, I was drawn to an environment where teachers and students can learn interactively with each other. Accordingly, I chose the path of a university researcher to engage in both research and education.

Q2. What research are you currently working on?

A2. Creating new materials by combining inorganic substances

My area of specialization is inorganic synthetic chemistry. As a discipline, it creates new materials by controlling the composition, structure, and morphology of inorganic substances. Conventionally, the synthesis of inorganic materials involved mixing raw materials and firing or melting them at high temperatures. This approach does not allow for the desired control over composition, structure, or morphology. Therefore, I am attempting to develop new synthesis methods which design target materials, building them up incrementally from simple structures.

In the ERATO project, we are creating nanospace materials that can be used to solve environmental and energy problems. Porous materials with nanoscale holes have surface areas of several hundred square meters per gram and they exhibit excellent performance as catalysts. We aim to create new materials with diverse integrated functions. To this end, our approach includes precisely fabricating and combining materials with various functions.

Recently, I developed a new synthesis method using water-soluble templates. As a matter of fact, this discovery emerged from an initial failure. When I was previously researching a new synthesis method for acid fluorides, the material which I had carefully created dissolved in water. I was disappointed, thinking it could not be used as a material. Several years later I realized that if it easily dissolves in water, it could be used as a template. I discovered a synthesis method for porous organic polymers using perovskite-type fluoride nanoparticles as templates. Changing my perspective led not to my specialized field of inorganic materials, but to the creation of new organic materials. The porous organic polymer material for photocatalysis produced through this method exhibits higher activity than materials of the same composition obtained from conventional methods.

Q3. A message for those aspiring to become researchers

A3. Seeds of new research lie within failures

Starting this year, I have also been working at NEDO, which has strengthened my conviction that technology should serve to solve social issues. Through joint research with companies, I am advancing the development of a catalyst filter that converts carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide at room temperature. By installing this technology into ventilation systems of disaster shelters, I believe it could help protect human lives.

In research, you can realize your own ideas and take on world-first challenges. There are many failures but therein lie the seeds of new research. It is important not to let failures remain merely as failures, but rather to shift your perspective and find new paths forward.