Kenshiro Matsuda
Assistant Professor | Ph.D. in Engineering
Applied Chemistry Course, Graduate School of Engineering
Photofunctional Molecule Synthesis Research Group
In my teaching, I am primarily responsible for laboratory and practical courses. Through hands-on experiments, I strive to help students experience firsthand how fundamental chemical knowledge translates into cutting-edge materials development and real-world applications, thereby solidifying their understanding of core principles.
Controlling Spin States to Create Next-Generation Photofunctional Molecules
What Students Can Learn
Students will gain practical expertise in the design and synthesis of organic molecules, as well as in evaluating their photophysical properties through various spectroscopic measurements.
Our work centers on creating and characterizing novel organic photofunctional materials by controlling their electron spins and spin multiplicities. Specifically, we construct stimulus-responsive molecular systems in which external triggers—such as acid-base interactions and oxygen concentration—reversibly alter the spin state, thereby switching the molecule's optical properties. Unlike conventional methods that require significant structural modifications, this approach allows us to freely modulate absorption and emission wavelengths, as well as energy transfer efficiency, while maintaining the underlying molecular framework. Ultimately, we aim to apply these synthesized molecules across a wide array of fields, including chemical sensors, next-generation optical data-storage devices, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic solar cells, and photoimmunotherapy.
