ホウ素などのヘテロ元素はπ共役系材料の物性を大きく変化させるため、ヘテロ元素を含むπ共役系材料は、発光材料などの分野で広く注目されている。本稿では近年発展の著しいトリアリールボラン系のオプトエレクトロニクス材料、とくに発光材料について最近の動向や今後の展望について解説する。

軽量かつ柔軟で平滑な高分子フィルムは、既存の光学素子ではなし得ない高機能性を具現化する可能性を秘めている。本稿では、液晶高分子フィルムの分子配向を制御する技術を利用した新たな光学素子の作製法と画像技術への展開について紹介する。

「電力供給なしで画像表示され、かつきわめて少ない電力で画像の書き換えが可能な表示媒体」の創出は画像革命につながると期待される。本稿ではSDGs、画面形状、表示の揮発性、表示のための光源の観点から表示媒体を類別するとともに、代表的なエレクトロクロミック材料を紹介する。さらに、ディスプレイ分野における日本の現状と課題を述べる。

Fluorescence imaging is nowaday indispensable in biological research, and many researchers are trying to apply it to clinical medicine. Fluorescence probes, which are activatable fluorescent dyes, play an important role in visualizing biological phenomena inside cells and bodies in fluorescence imaging. While numerous practical fluorescence probes have been developed, further development of them are needed due to the growing understanding of biological phenomena, prompting the need to visualize new biomolecules and biological processes. This manuscript introduces our recent achievements including the biological application related to the development of fluorescence probes; i) the development of novel near-infrared fluorophores, Si-rhodamines and Si-substituted fluorescein (TokyoMagenta), ii) Efforts have been made to explore novel mechanisms for fluorescence off/on controlling and we recently found the unique twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) in rhodamine dyes. We expect that these techniques would contribute to the development of innovative fluorescence probes in medicine and life sciences.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) devices have attracted attention for unique display applications because of their simple structure of the luminescent solution sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. However, in comparison with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), their performances remain very low. Although, in general, the ECL solutions have been prepared by dissolving a single luminescent material in an organic solvent, the author has investigated novel solutions that contain multiple luminescent materials. Recently, the author has developed host-guest solutions and solutions doped with an emitting assist dopant making progress toward more highly efficient ECL displays. In this article, the author will introduce these recent research progresses.

A photonic crystal, an ordered structure with a periodicity of several hundred nanometers, can selectively reflect light, exhibiting a structural color. Owing to its fade resistance and color tunability, it is expected to be one of the next-generation color materials. In this article, I introduce a dynamic photonic crystal consisting of inorganic nanosheets and water, as well as the design strategy for its structural color. In particular, I discuss an interesting phenomenon where single and double structural colors can be achieved by applying homogeneous and gradient temperatures, respectively.

Dive into a journey where curiosity meets discovery in the world of solids. This story takes you from the first “aha” moment in college through exciting research adventures, to making real-world impacts. It's a call to young scientists to explore the mysteries of polymers and find their own path in science.

Self-healing functions play a significant role in enhancing the lifetime and reliability of materials. Siloxane-based materials are widely used in various fields because of their excellent properties, such as high thermal and chemical stability. This review focuses on the recent progress in the design of self-healing siloxane-based materials. Numerous types of self-healing poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based elastomers have been reported, including those utilizing extrinsic healing system with microcapsules containing healing reagents, as well as intrinsic healing systems relying on non-covalent bonds and dynamic covalent bonds. Particularly, the dynamic bond exchange of siloxane (Si–O–Si) bonds is extensively employed for producing siloxane-containing polymer materials and composite materials with self-healing ability, degradability, and recyclability. Furthermore, more rigid, silsesquioxane- and silica-based self-healing materials have recently been developed through molecular-level design and mesoscale structural control.