-Designing Future Materials from the Microstructure of Wood-
Wood is an aggregate of cells, each of which is surrounded by a cell wall approximately 2/1000 millimeters thick. These cell walls are composed of multiple layers of orderly arranged cellulose. Even with today’s advanced science, it is impossible to artificially reproduce such an intricate structure. By drawing on the remarkable features of wood’s natural structure—leveraging its strengths while compensating for its weaknesses—we can create high-performance materials for the future. Our group is currently working on enhancing the acoustic performance of wood for use in musical instruments by impregnating it with inorganic substances to form chelates.
Wood is one of the materials with which humanity has had the longest relationship, perhaps because each species possesses unique and distinctive properties—for example, the tonal qualities of a violin or the impact resistance of a baseball bat. These characteristics are thought to be closely related to the shape and arrangement of wood cells. By probing these structural features through methods such as acoustic and electromagnetic analysis, we aim to explore their potential for application in the design of new materials.
Educational approach
-Understanding Wood is Key to Understanding Biomass-
Wood is a material that has been refined by hundreds of millions of years of evolution. It embodies the essence of material design on a micro-scale that we cannot replicate artificially. In the lectures, students learn about the structure of wood from the macroscopic to the molecular level. Its hierarchical structure across various scales and the resulting behavior are arguably more complex than any human-made material. By understanding wood, you gain a deeper insight into numerous other forms of biomass and even artificial materials. Throughout human history, wood has held a firm position as a fundamental material. In Japan, a nation with a long history of using wood, planted forests make up about 40% of our land area. Once humans begin managing a forest, we have a continuous responsibility to maintain it in a healthy state, which means making it resilient to disasters and ensuring it can absorb more carbon. To sustainably use wood—by cutting it, using it, and planting new seedlings in its place—requires societal and economic systems. Studying wood helps us understand biomass in ways that combine science, engineering, and social responsibility.
Vision for industry-academia collaboration
From Production to Disposal: Utilizing Wood as a Solid Material for Functional Applications
I have been working on the following topics related to plant-based materials:
Analyzing the combustion and strength properties of aged wood.
Creating novel carbon materials by using wood cells as microreactors.
Producing adsorbent materials through carbonization of various unutilized plants and agricultural residues from Southeast Asia.
Developing self-scrolling membranes using the aggregation properties of natural polymers such as chitin and chitosan.
Controlling the crystallization of silica ash emitted during the combustion of rice husks.
Building on these achievements, my goal is to transform wood into functional materials that are closer to their solid form. This approach aims to minimize environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle, from production to disposal.
