[Time & Venue Changed] Seminar: "On the Functional Bioplastics" by Prof. Masaru Yoshida, Catalytic Chemistry Research Center, AIST

In recent years, environmental pollution caused by the dramatic increase in plastic use has become an international social problem. From the viewpoint of reducing environmental destruction, further utilization of bioplastics and biodegradable plastics is required in parallel with the promotion of recycling. However, the diffusion rate of bioplastics remains low, and the development of new functional bioplastics is expected to contribute to improving the diffusion rate. We have synthesized new functional bioplastics from monomers that can be derived from inedible biomass and found interesting mechanical properties. Furthermore, we designed and synthesized a "diblock copolymer (PBS-b-PA4)" and a "multi-block copolymer (PBS-mb-PA4)" composed of polybutylene succinate (PBS), a biodegradable polymer that is incompatible with each other and has excellent moldability, and polyamide 4 (PA4), a high mechanical strength polymer, respectively. The properties of these copolymers were investigated in detail. In this presentation, we will introduce the details of these materials.

 

Mar. 1989 Graduated from Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University

Mar. 1994 Completed Doctoral program in Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University (Advisor: Prof. Hideki Sakurai)

Apr. 1994 Joined Industrial Research Institute of Materials Science and Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Department of Molecular Engineering)

Apr 2001 Senior Researcher, Material Process Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Mar. 2002-Mar. 2004 Visiting Researcher, Prof. Jean M. J. Fréchet Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, USA (JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Young Scientists)

May 2006-April 2007, Seconded to the Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.

Oct. 2008-Mar. 2010, Research Group Leader, Molecular Smart Systems Group, Nanotechnology Research Institute, AIST

April 2010-December 2012 Research Group Leader, Smart Materials Group, Nano-Systems Research Institute, AIST.

Jan. 2013-Mar. 2015 Director, Research Planning Office, Nanotechnology, Materials and Manufacturing Field, AIST.

Apr. 2015-Jun. 2019 Deputy Director, Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry, AIST.

July 2019-December 2022 Deputy Research Director, Catalysis Chemistry Integration Research Center, AIST

Jan. 2023- Director, Research Center for Integrated Catalysis Chemistry, AIST.