Doi Laboratory was newly started in April 2024. We will work together with the students who will be assigned to us in the future to make a laboratory full of vitality and characters.

Our research aim is to understand the relationship between the molecular architecture (i.e., chain connecting manner) and various properties of polymers. To achieve this goal, we are extensively working on synthesis, purification, characterization and physical properties of polymers.

It is well-known that ring polymers, which have no chain ends, are difficult to form intermolecular entanglements, and exhibit completely different molecular properties from linear polymers. In our laboratory, we aim to prepare highly-purified ring polymer samples using our unique synthesis and purification techniques, and to elucidate their molecular properties through various state-of-the-art measurements and analyses.

Sheet-shaped polymers, in which monomers are connected two-dimensionally, are interesting as novel nano-materials, but a highly-efficient preparation method for samples has not yet been established. We are exploring a new method to polymerize monomers in a two-dimensional manner using a highly anisotropic inorganic layered compound (i.e., natural nanoclay montmorillonite) as a template.