Reseacher

Name KANAZAWA Akihiko
Official Title Professor
Affiliation Applied Chemistry, Science and Engineering
E-mail akanaza@tcu.ac.jp
Web
  1. http://www.risys.gl.tcu.ac.jp/Main.php?action=profile&type=detail&tchCd=5001798
Profile Akihiko Kanazawa graduated from Numazu College of Technology in 1983 and obtained Bachelor's degree in synthetic chemistry from Shizuoka University in 1985. He joined the Nippon Chemical Industrial Co., Ltd., where he worked in the field of organophosphorus chemistry and developed pesticides, herbicides, and drugs including antibiotics. In 1990 to 1992, he worked as a senior research scientist at the Tokyo Institute of Technology on development of biologically active polymers, especially polymeric biocides, where he received Ph.D in polymer chemistry from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1994. He then joined the Tokyo Institute of Technology as an assistant professor in 1995. In 2001, he was promoted to an associate professor in Yamagata University. His research interests include development of polarization-controllable thin films based on liquid-crystalline materials for electrooptic applications. In 2008, he was promoted to full professor of polymer chemistry, and then joined Tokyo City University as full professor of polymer chemistry in 2009. Current research is focused mainly on development of unique optoelectronic materials functionalized with polymerization or molecular self-assembly techniques, in which emphasis is placed on molecular design, synthesis, and characterization of distinct organic compounds forming a nano-structured molecular organization.
Research Field(Keyword & Summary)
  1. (1) Development of Mixed Electron-Ion Conducting Polymers

    This research aims to develop the mixed electron-ion conducting polymers for energy devices, such as high-performance lithium-ion rechargeable battery and fuel cell, in new generation. In the present research, a novel class of electron-ion conducting materials with a redox activity have been prepared from carbon disulfides by photochemical and electrochemical techniques, which are pi-conjugated polymers with stoichiometric composition of CS. The poly(carbon monosulfide)s have been presented to become a promising candidate as a new class of the cathode active materials for lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Through the improvement of the synthetic method, the poly(carbon monosulfide)s are expected to become a practical material for application to high-performance lithium-ion rechargeable battery with high energy density. Furthermore, we have focused on tropolones as a non-benzenoid aromatic compound, which are seven-membered ring unsaturated compounds, and attempted to synthesize the pi-conjugated tropolone polymers using electrochemical technique. The polymeric tropolone materials will act as n-type polymer semiconductors and ion-conducting polymers owing to the characteristic system of seven pi-electrons in the tropolone rings. The tropolone-based polymers are expected to show an advantageous feature as fuel-cell electrolytes showing protonic conductivity even under dry conditions.

  2. (2) Development of Nano-Structured Optoelectronic Materials Built by Liquid Crystals

    Structurally-controlled thin film assemblies offer many attractions for the construction of new functionalized materials with unique structures, in which it is essential to control the structure of organizations at the molecular or atomic levels. For instance, for optoelectronic materials in device applications such as sensors and memories, the key requirement is the presence of noncentrosymmetric (polar) order. In the molecule-based systems, the materials can possess an optoelectronic function only when the noncentrosymmetric molecules are incorporated into a noncentrosymmetric macroscopic structure. The achievement of such macroscopic ordering (i.e., dipolar alignment), however, is a formidable task, since the permanent electric dipoles of noncentrosymmetric molecules tend to pair in opposite directions to give rise to a centrosymmetric macroscopic structure. In fact, the attribute of polar order is usually restricted to a certain crystalline class. Therefore, we have focused on creation of unique optoelectronic materials functionalized with the aid of thermotropic liquid crystals possessing a high degree of molecular organization abilities.

Representative Papers
  1. (1) Biocompatible Homogeneous Particle Formation via the Self-Complexation of Chitosan with Oleic Acid and Its Application as an Encapsulation Material for a Water-insoluble Compound, Colloids Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects, 624, 126808 (2021).
  2. (2) Lipid Vesicle Preparation Using W/O/W Emulsions via Solvent Evaporation: the Effect of Emulsifiers on the Entrapment Yield of Hydrophilic Materials, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc., 96(12), 1405-1416 (2019).
  3. (3) Development of Poly(carbon monosulfide)-Based Cathode Materials for High-Performance Rechargeable Batteries, Sulphuric Acid and Industry, 72(5), 1-8 (2019).
  4. (4) Freeze-Dryable Lipid Vesicles with Size Tunability and High Encapsulation Efficiency Prepared by the Multiple Emulsification-Solvent Evaporation Method, Colloids Surf. B: Biointerfaces, 159, 412-418 (2017).
  5. (5) Study on Antibacterial Dental Resin Using Tri-n-butyl(4-vinylbenzyl)phosphonium Chloride, Dent. Mater. J., 30, 960-966 (2011).
  6. (6) Effect of Charge Transfer Complex on Electrical Properties of 4-Cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 48, 121404-1-5 (2009).
  7. (7) Novel Anhydrous Organic Proton Conductor for Fuel Cells, SPIE Newsroom, 10.1117/2.1200901.1471 (2009).
  8. (8) Novel Columnar Liquid-Crystalline Nanomaterials Designed toward Anhydrous Organic Proton Conductors, Proc. SPIE, 7050, 705004-1-8 (2008).
  9. (9) Supramolecular Polar Thin Films Built by Surfactant Liquid Crystals: Polarization-Tunable Multilayer Self-Assemblies with In-Plane Ferroelectric Ordering of Ion-Based Dipoles, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 123, 1748-1754 (2001).
  10. (10) Polar Thin Films Produced by Phosphonium Liquid Crystals: Two-Dimensional Self-Assembled Ionic Layers with Spontaneous Polarization, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 39, 612-615 (2000).
Patent
  1. (1) PCT/FR2019/052388, PCT/IB2019/001263
  2. (2) e.g., 6606412, 5189065, 3573764, 3154075, 3179192, 3174971, 3332920, 3178546, 3154301, 3121084
  3. (3) USP 5,366,727
Award (1) Best Paper Award by Japan Society for Food Engineering (2017)
(2) Best Poster Award by The Society of Polymer Science (SPSJ) (2016)
(3) Research Education Award by Yamagata University (2006-2009)
(4) Research Award for Industrial Technology by Tejima Foundation (2003)
(5) Best Paper Award A by Japanese Liquid Crystal Society (JLCS) (2002)
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research Support: Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) https://nrid.nii.ac.jp/en/nrid/1000080272714/
Research Grants/Projects including subsidies, donations, grants, etc. (1) JST "Adaptable and Seamless Technology Transfer Program" (2018-2019)
https://projectdb.jst.go.jp/grant/JST-PROJECT-18089026/
(2) NEDO "Industrial Technology Research Grant Program" (2011-2015)
https://www.nedo.go.jp/library/seika/shosai_201603/20150000000827.html
(3) NEDO "Industrial Technology Research Grant Program" (2006-2010)
https://www.nedo.go.jp/library/seika/shosai_201101/20100000001753.html
Recruitment of research assistant(s) No
Affiliated academic society (Membership type) (1) The Society of Polymer Science, Japan (Regular menber)
(2) The Chemical Society of Japan (Regular menber)
(3) Japanese Liquid Crystal Society (Regular menber)
(4) The Adhesion Society of Japan (Regular menber)
(5) American Chemical Society (Regular menber)
Education Field (Undergraduate level) Polymer Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry
Education Field (Graduate level) Advanced Functional Polymer Materials

Affiliation