Hokkaido University · Materials Science
Professor Kenji Tajima's research lab specializes in advanced materials and biopolymer engineering, focusing on the development of functional nanomaterials and sustainable biodegradable polymers. Key research directions include the design of all-optical switches using novel nonlinear optical materials for ultrafast photonic applications, surface modification of nanocellulose for enhanced hydrophobicity and material performance, and the enzymatic synthesis of tailored polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) such as lactate-co-hydroxybutyrate copolymers via innovative two-phase reaction systems. The lab integrates spectroscopic characterization, molecular dynamics analysis, and biocatalysis to advance materials for optoelectronics and green chemistry.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
We propose a polarization-discriminating Mach-Zehnder (PDMZ) all-optical switch. The switching speed of this PDMZ all-optical switch is not limited by the slow relaxation time of highly efficient incoherent nonlinearities. We demonstrate a squarelike modulation characteristic, which is necessary in most switching applications, at a switching speed (on-off time) of 40 ps. We also demonstrate ultrafast switching at a detector limited speed of ∼8 ps.
Surface modification of nanofibrillated bacterial cellulose (NFBC) with methyltrimethoxysilane was performed in water to hydrophobize its surface. A series of cellulose samples with different degrees of molar substitution of methyltrimethoxysilane was prepared by changing the NFBC:methyltrimethoxysilane ratio in the preparation. Detailed structural characterization of these samples, including their degrees of molar substitution and crystallinity, was conducted by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-trans
In our previous paper, we synthesized poly-3-hydroxybutyrate [P(3HB)] by using the water-organic-solvent two-phase reaction system (TPRS), in which (R)-3-hydroxybutyrylCoA [(R)-3HBCoA] was continuously supplied to PHA synthase by the ester exchange reaction between CoA and thiophenol in thiophenyl (R)-3HB [(R)-3HBTP]. By applying TPRS to the screening, we found a lactate- (LA-) polymerizing enzyme from PHA synthases. The enzyme was an engineered PHA synthase, which stereoselectively copolymerize
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