The sea pineapple is the only animal that produces cellulose, and its shells, excluding the edible parts, are treated as industrial waste. By removing proteins and other components from the sea squirt shells and fibrillating them, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) can be extracted. We have focused on the fact that CNFs derived from sea squirt shells have a higher degree of crystallinity and greater mechanical strength compared to those from wood, and we are exploring various applications of this material. Furthermore, since the material transforms into high-quality carbon upon calcination, we successfully developed "nano-blood carbon catalysts" by mixing it with dried blood powder and calcining the mixture. These catalysts are being applied in fuel cells, water electrolysis, and metal-air batteries.

CNFs derived from sea pineapple's shells have a higher degree of crystallinity compared to those from wood and provide longer fibers, resulting in high strength. When calcined, they transform into high-performance carbon.

• We are the only research laboratory that has consistently developed a process for the simple and large-scale purification of CNFs derived from sea pineapple's shells, along with the creation of film materials that leverage their unique properties (mechanical, engineering, surface science, electrical, and thermal characteristics), as well as the development of carbonized materials.

We offer materials derived from sea pineapples' shell CNFs, as well as their carbonized products and catalysts. Please feel free to consult us regarding material supply, carbonization processes, or the utilization of catalysts.

• Microwave processing is one of the attractive fields in recent materials processing. We perform various materials processing using non-equilibrium reaction field induced by microwave and/or ultrasonic irradiation. The topic contains powder metallurgy, nitride coatings, synthesis of new functional materials, fabrication of nanoparticles, etc. Recently we have developed a new TiN coating method using our microwave irradiation equipment operated at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. The method is simple but applicable to various substrates with complex shape. This method can be applied to various nitride coatings and will open a new coating technology in many fields of applications.

The major targets of TiN coatings are for cutting tools, ball bearings, dental implants, die and mold for stamping, and ornaments. The newly developed method makes it possible to perform nitride coatings within a short time using a standard microwave heating equipment. We hope to conduct collaborative research with a willing company for a practical application of these technology.

• We developed both pH and Cl- imaging plates, which can visualize the pH and Cl- concentration on metal surfaces in acidic environments. The pH range is from 3.0 to 0.5, and Cl- concentration up to 4 M can be measured. Fluorescent dyes are successively used for pH and Cl- imaging in the field of biology, but their sensitivity tends to be insufficient in acidic and/or highly concentrated chloride solutions. A glass plate with a sol-gel sensing layer, which contains a pH indicator or a Cl- sensitive florescent dye was fabricated and validated using the solutions with various pH values and Cl- concentrations. Changes in the pH and Cl- distribution on stainless surface in an acidic environment were measured quantitatively.

The newly developed imaging plates can be used to investigate the mechanism of various chemical reactions, such as corrosion, which occurs in an acidic environment. Micro-flow imaging using our sensing technique will be a promising approach to understand the catalytic chemistry of metal surfaces.
強調

• Fukuyama laboratory studies novel material processing based on chemical thermodynamics with high-temperature thermophysical property measurements. As examples, we are developing new crystal growth processes to bring a breakthrough in nitride-semiconductor devices, which are promising materials for next-generation optical devices applied in environmental, medical, bio and information technologies fields. Database of thermophysical properties of materials is needed for modeling heat and mass transports in materials processes.

A new thermophysical property measurement system is currently under development, which enables accurate measurements of heat capacity, thermal conductivity, emissivity, density and surface tension of high-temperature melts, utilizing electromagnetic levitation in a dc magnetic field.

• Toward the ultimate performances of image sensors, advanced research activities are being conducted that cover a wide range of technology fields from cleanroom infrastructure, materials, process equipment, process, device, circuit, assembly, signal processing, measurement/evaluation and reliability. Following technologies have been successfully commercialized:
• A fast and accurate measurement technology of electrical characteristics for over 1 million transistors
• A wide dynamic range CMOS image sensor technology capturing images over five decade brightness ranges
• An ultra-fast CMOS image sensor technology with 10 million frames/sec

Followings are available for industry collaborators:
A. 200mm-diameter-wafer silicon device fabrication utilizing the ultra-clean facility including wafer mutual fabrication processing between device manufacturers.
B. Process technology development and various kinds of analyses.
C. Development of new image sensors.