Takuo Minato, Department of Applied Chemistry, won a CSJ (Chemical Society of Japan) Poster Presentation Award 2013 for Excellent Research

Takuo Minato, Department of Applied Chemistry, won a CSJ (Chemical Society of Japan) Poster Presentation Award 2013 for Excellent Research.

<About awarded research>

Molecular cage compounds can selectively recognize guest molecules in the cavities and perform catalytic activities depending on the structures. Polyoxometalates are anionic molecular oxides, and the precise design of cavities with polyoxometalates enables to construct inorganic molecular cage compounds with specific properties because their valences and electronic states can be controlled by changing constituent elements. In this work, the inorganic molecular cage possessing high charge density was synthesized by the condensation of hemispherical polyoxometalates, and we found that the small cavity of the cage can capture protons (H⁺) selectively and reversibly. In addition, the inorganic molecular cage can capture protons selectively in the presence of various kinds of metal cations and showed base catalysis. 

<Comments>

I am very glad and honored to receive this award. I really appreciate my supervisors, Prof. Dr. Noritaka Mizuno, Dr. Keigo Kamata, and Dr. Kosuke Suzuki, for their valuable and crucial suggestions. I will strive to carry out my research and to create interesting and useful compounds.